Pokémon: The Quest for Misty
by MarioBoss365
Summary: After an argument goes too far, Ash and Misty break their friendship and go their separate ways, without even revealing their true feelings for each other. However after Ash reaches his life dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, he receives word that the Cerulean City Gym has been destroyed... and Misty has vanished! A AAML adventure Fan Fic.
1. Hidden Emotions

Hey everyone! I'm MarioBoss365 and this is my first fan fiction! This story takes place in after Pokémon XY.

Two notes: Everyone is the age they are in the anime cause I have a hard time imagining Ash as a 17 year old in other fan fics. No offense to you guys who wrote those stories cause they are still good. Also, each chapter in this story begins with Misty remembering her moments with Ash. Most of them will sound pretty familiar.

Warning: Contains AAML. This isn't a romance novel, but if there is a girl Ash should end up with it's Misty. Pokeshipping forever!

Oh, and I don't own Pokémon. If I did, Misty never would've left, she and Ash would be together, and none of the partners after Brock and Dawn would've existed.

Enjoy.

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**Chapter 1: Hidden Emotions**

_It was just another ordinary day when it happened. I was fishing at my favorite spot, hoping to catch yet another water Pokémon. Then I caught something! It seemed heavy! Perhaps it was a Magikarp! Or maybe even a Tentacruel! No, they wouldn't be in these waters. Nevertheless, I was determined to catch it! As hard as I could, I reeled in my fishing line, excited to see my new water type Pokémon. But to my surprise and disappointment, what I had caught was not a Pokémon but a kid, a 10-year old kid who looked as if he had just escaped from something. In his arms was a small, yellow electric Pikachu, which seemed to have been injured badly. Caring only about the welfare of the little yellow mouse, I blamed the kid for its injuries and demanded that he take it to the nearest Pokémon Center in Viridian City. The kid then panicked as an angry flock of Spearow was flying towards him. Without hesitation, he steals my bike I had set beside a nearby tree and rides as fast as he could toward Viridian City. Angrily, I chased after him. Little did I know that doing so would change my life forever. That was the day. The day I met him: … Ash Ketchum._

(End of prologue)

Present Day, Cerulean City…

The sun shined brightly over the beautiful Cerulean City as Tracey Sketchit was on his way to deliver Pokémon food to the Cerulean City Gym. He didn't mind the long walk from Pallet Town. He enjoyed sketching the many Pokémon and their ways of life as he encountered them on his journey. Besides, he spent most of his time working at Professor Samuel Oak's laboratory back at Pallet Town so it felt good to get out and get some fresh air.

Inside the gym, some water-type Pokémon were enjoying themselves as they played in the gym pool together. Tracey was so intrigued by this that he sat his stuff down and sketched what he saw: a Starme and a Staru were swimming around playing tag with their friend Horsea, a Corsola was dancing in the water while a Politoed gleefully cheered it on, and a confused-looking Psyduck who couldn't swim was floating in its own inner tube. "Water Pokémon are so beautiful, don't you agree?" said a voice from behind. Tracey right away recognized that voice. He turned around and saw his old friend. There she was, Misty Waterflower the Cerulean Gym leader. She had red hair with a side pony tail on the left side of her head. She wore a yellow hoodie and dark blue short shorts. Any guy who saw her had a hard time not staring at her beautiful face that could make any guy weak in the knees. However, Tracey only saw Misty as a friend so any of those feelings weren't there for her. Nonetheless, he was pleased to see his old friend.

"Hey, Misty! Long time no see!"

"Yeah it's been awhile. Thanks for delivering the Pokémon food for me Tracy."

"You're welcome. What are friends for?" As Tracy and Misty started feeding the Pokémon, Tracy noticed how well the gym looked. "Wow, Misty, you really have out done yourself with the place."

"Thanks. Since my sisters left and became full-time models in the Orange Islands, I basically own the place now. So I figured I would fix up the place to how I see fit."

"Well I must say you did a great job. Why, the Pokémon sure seem to be happy with you in charge. You really know what you're doing."

Misty blushed. She hadn't been complimented by a boy without something under his sleeve in a long time. All the guys who have challenged her to a Pokémon battle just want to check her out and see if she wanted to go out with him. Sure, they said some sweet and nice things to her, but Misty saw through them and knew what each and everyone of them truly wanted out of her. And she wasn't even the least bit interested. But she knew Tracey pretty well. After all, she and a friend of hers once travelled with him around the Orange Islands. And although there was nothing but friendship between them, they were close enough of friends that she knew he was just complimenting her as her friend. No strings attached.

"You're so sweet, Tracey."

After they finished feeding the Pokémon, Tracey noticed the TV was on. "Hey look at that! The Pokémon World Competition is on it's final round!" Misty picked up her newly-evolved Merill and walked over by Tracey and saw what he was talking about. "And hey, look who made it there!"

"_Here we are folks! The final round of the Pokémon World Competition! And what a completion it has been so far! But the day's not over yet! It is now down to this incredible final showdown: Lance Wataru of the Elite Four vs. Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! Only time will tell if this young trainer will stand victorious and become a Pokémon Master!"_

The crowds on the screen cheer as two figures come out on to the opposite sides of the stadium. Lance, the Dragon Master of the Elite Four, came from the left side while the young Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town entered from the right with a little yellow Pikachu at his side. Tracy could tell that both the trainer, who just so happened to be a friend of his, and his Pokémon companion looked completely focus and determined to win this life-changing battle for both of them. He knew that both of them had waited a long time for this moment to come and they were not going to let anything get them down.

The referee made his way to the stadium. "_This will be a six-on-six battle with no time limit! Both trainers can only substitute their Pokémon once! Begin-NOW!"_

"_Flygon, I choose you!"_

"_Gliscor, I choose you!"_

The moment both Pokémon entered the stadium, a feeling of excitement came across Tracey's smile. "Ash sure has come a long way since his last Pokémon League Competition. He is sure to win this one! Don't you agree, Misty?"

"…Yeah… Sure…" Misty sighed sadly. Tracy failed to notice the couple of tears that just had fallen from Misty's eyes as she looked away from the TV. She never let Tracy, or anyone for that matter, know this, but the very mention of Ash Ketchum's name, let alone seeing his face on the TV screen, made her want to burst out crying intensely. However, she never wanted her friends to see her in her weak state, so she did her best to keep her emotions and feelings hidden deep inside. As she has done for a long time ever since… that tragic day…

Tracey continued watching the match while Misty went to check the mail, trying to get her mind off the young trainer from Pallet Town. However, one of the letters just made things worst. The letter was from Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. It read:

_You are formally invited to my son Ash's welcome home and most likely victory party. We will be celebrating all weekend long. Food will be provided by me and Brock Slate. Hope to see you there_

_Delia Ketchum_

As much as she hated to admit it, Misty so wanted to go. It would be great to see her friends whom she hadn't seen in a long time: good ol' Brock, Delia, Professor Oak, May, Max, and even Gary Oak, Ash's former rival. And deep, deep, DEEP down she would give anything to see Ash again. But she couldn't. Not after what happened the last time they were together…

She remembered that day well…

TOO well…

Tracey noticed her holding the letter in her hand and the invitation he had also received. "Oh, so you were invited to Ash's welcome home/victory party, too, huh?'

"Yeah… but I'm not going."

Tracey was surprised. As he had observed when he traveled with them in the Orange Islands, this orange-haired girl was one of Ash's closest friends! Heck, she was his best friend! And here she was, straight out saying she wouldn't attend his welcome home party! "Misty, why-?"

"I'M JUST NOT!" She didn't mean to yell and sound rude, but her emotions were finally taking over. "I'm sorry, but I can't go! I just… can't."

"Does it have to do with being busy with the gym?"

Misty almost lied her way out of this one when considering to say, "Yes! That is exactly it. I will be too busy with the gym this weekend." However, she decided it wouldn't do her any good lying to Tracey In order to deny her feelings and emotions. So in the end, she just shook her head.

"Well then why can't you go? Ash is your best friend… right?"

Misty looked up at him and sighed sadly. "Tracey… A-Ash and I haven't been friends since he left for his Sinnoh journey."

Now Tracey was shocked and confused. What did Misty mean by that? What could possibly happen to cause her and Ash to stop being friends? It's true that the two spent most of the time arguing, but none of the regular arguments they were accustomed to would cause them to break their friendship. Concern for his friend, Tracey turns the TV off and walks over to her. "You want to talk about it?"

"What is really there to t-talk about? A-Ash and I just d-decided not to be friends a-anymore." She started to shed some tears but wiped them from her cheeks before they got out of hand.

"Misty, come on. You guys were so close. No matter how often you two argued back when traveling together, you and Ash were always inseparable. You guys were, if I may, perfect for each other."

Misty couldn't bear to look up anymore without letting him see her tears. "It doesn't matter anymore. That's all in the past. He probably doesn't even remember I exist." After saying the last part she lost control of her emotions and burst into tears. _What's going on?! Ash had really hurt me that day! He said he wished he had never… But then, why?! Why can't I get my mind off him?! Why do I feel so empty inside without the boy who wishes I never existed in his life?! _While deep in this thought process, she buried her wet-with-tears face in her palms. Tracey, being the kind-hearted person he was, tried his best to comfort his friend who barely let her emotions take over.

Tracey thought for a little bit before finally saying, "Misty, please, I want to help you. What exactly happened between the two of you that day?" Tracey knew he couldn't change whatever happened between his two best friends, but he hoped Misty telling him what happened and letting out the hurt could ease her mind and heart a bit. He could tell she has had this hurt caged deep inside for awhile now. She had in fact said that the incident took place before Ash left for his Pokémon journey through the Sinnoh region, and he had since been on two other Pokémon journeys after Sinnoh. "Talk to me, Misty."

Misty took a deep breath and looked up at her concerned friend. "Alright, I'll tell you," she began. But before she could go any further, the door bell rang. Tracy got up to answer on account that Misty didn't want to be seen in the current condition she was in. He heads for the door but turns around to see Misty turning the TV back on. She continued shedding silent tears as she watched Ash choose his fourth Pokémon, Snorlax, on to the stadium.

"You sure you should watch that?"

"I watch it for the Pokémon, not for the competitors," she lied through her teeth. Tracey nodded, sensing she wasn't really telling the truth, and continued toward the front door of the gym. Misty continued watching the Pokémon match as thoughts of that last day with Ash crept into her mind. _It's all my fault! I had pushed him too hard that day! If I didn't he wouldn't have had said those things! We would still be friends! No… that… that still doesn't excuse what he said to me! I… I… I HATE HIM! _She looked up at the TV screen and saw him as he had just won the fourth round of the match. Looking at his face on the screen, she continued crying as one last thought entered her mind. _Oh Ash, _(sniff) _if only you had known the real reason I wanted to meet with you that day…_

"Coming," said Tracey as the door bell kept ringing. He opened the door. "Hello?" No one. Tracey looked around to see where he/she was. No one. Having given up, he closes the door behind him and makes his way back to the gym floor. But stops in his tracks when he hears a load, blood-curdling scream from the inside of the gym.

_Misty!_

Tracey ran as fast as he could to the area where he left Misty only a few minutes ago. But he arrived there too late. Misty was gone! He stood there in shock as he saw the terror in front of him: all the Pokémon were badly injured, the TV was on the ground in pieces, shattered glass was all over the place, and worse of all a long trail of blood ran through the gym floor and into the hallway on the opposite side of the gym.

Fearing for the worse, Tracey quickly returned all the Pokémon to their Pokéballs, placed them in his backpack, and then followed the trail of blood, praying it wasn't too late. As he reached the hallway he stopped in his tracks to find TNT and other explosives strapped to the walls and ceiling. And with a timer that had less than ten seconds left! Without hesitation, Tracey ran towards the nearest window and jumped out of the gym just as the building exploded behind him. The impact pushed him about a half a mile away from where the gym had once been.

Tracey cringed in pain as he tried to get up. He checked his backpack to see if the Pokéballs were ok. All of them were intact. He then looked up at the ruins of the once beautiful Cerulean Gym. His mind then wondered off into thoughts of what became of Misty Waterflower, the beautiful 12 year old gym leader of Cerulean City whom he had just spoken to not that long ago. Could she have been inside when the gym blew up? Was the trail of blood from her? Was it too late for her?

Tracey knew he had to call Officer Jenny. As he walked toward to the nearest phone booth, he found a little note by the phone. What it read made Tracey gasp in fear:

_**The Ketchum kid is next...**_

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Well there you have it! Chapter one. Hope you enjoyed it! I should have chapter two up soon. School is almost over so I will have time! Post comments and let me know what you thought of this story so far. Be nice though, people. Btw, the next chapter will start with a Pokémon battle with Charizard. Post in the comments on what Pokémon you think Charizard should battle. You can suggest a Pokémon from any generation. Well, I gotta split. See ya guys later.


	2. Battle of Destiny

Ok here it is! Chapter 2! I did not expect to get it done so quickly, but I had some free time over the weekend, so I got it done. This chapter has a lot of Pokémon in it. Well, it is a Pokémon fan fic after all. If I messed up the battles in anyways, I apologize. But remember, this is my first fan fiction. So I can learn from my mistakes.

Note: each chapter in this story begins with Misty remembering her moments with Ash. Most of them will sound pretty familiar.

Warning: this is a AAML story. Though not a romance novel, I totally believe that Ash and Misty should be together. Forever. No matter how long. From now until the end of time. (REFERENCE!) I believe in Pokeshipping!

And again, I don't own Pokémon. If I did, Ash would win competitions a lot more than he loses.

Enjoy

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**Chapter 2: Battle of Destiny**

_"WAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BIKE?!"_

_"YOU HAPPENED TO MY BIKE!"_

_I had found what was left of my bike in the middle of the forest the very next day. As it turns out, the little thief and his injured Pokémon were attacked by the flock of Spearow there the night before. To protect its master, the little Pikachu used what strength it had left and used a powerful thundershock to scare off the Spearow for good. The impact of the attack had completely turned my bike into burnt charcoal. It was destroyed. I then grabbed the burnt remains, followed the trail to Viridian City and ran towards the Pokémon Center as fast as I could, planning on killing the kid for what he did to my bike. And sure enough, there he was, just getting off the Center's vidphone. I ran furiously over to him, preparing to make my kill. While begging for mercy, the kid explained that he had to "borrow" my bike because his Pikachu was seriously injured and he had to get it to the Pokémon Center as quickly as possible. Seeing that it was an emergency, I let him live. Suddenly, smog filled the center and three villainous figures (a man, a woman, and a talking Meowth) came bursting in, revealing themselves as agents of the evil Team Rocket and threatened to steal all the Pokémon at the Center. Using the Center's electricity and my burnt bike, the newly powered and recovered Pikachu used a superpowered thundershock to send the three villains blasting off. Afterwards, Ash, the kid who stole my bike and destroyed it, thanked the Center's Nurse Joy, took his Pikachu, and headed off on his Pokémon journey. It was then when I made the choice to follow him throughout his journey, vowing to do so until he paid me back for my bike. And to this day, I never regretted my decision. That day, I began my greatest adventure... and my greatest friendship._

Meanwhile, at the Pokémon World Competition...

"This is it, folks! We are down to the final round of the final match of the Pokémon World Competition! Both trainers are down to their sixth Pokémon! We all know the last Pokémon Lance of the Elite Four will use, but which Pokémon will young Ash Ketchum choose from his team?"

Both Ash and Lance get their Pokéballs ready. "Alright Ash, this is it! I'm going all out on this one so don't expect an easy battle!"

"I never do, Lance!"

Lance then released his Pokéball from his grip and cried, "Dragonite, I choose you!" A flash of light sprung from the ball as it hit the ground. Suddenly, the light was replaced by a big orange dragon. It weighted 462 lb (210 kg) and was 7'3" (2.2 m) tall. It had two small wings on its back which still gave it flight despite its size. It had a determined yet calm demeanor on its face. It stomped on to the stadium ready to fight.

Ash smiled. "Ha! I knew you would choose Dragonite for your last Pokémon! So I choose you, Charizard!" Ash then releases his Pokéball, also releasing a flash of light but this time being replaced by a red-orange dragon. This dragon Pokémon was different than Lance's Dragonite. It only weighted 199.1 lb (90.5 kg) and was only 5'7" (1.7 m) tall. However, its wings were big and it had something no Dragonite would ever have: a raging flame on the end of its tail. This Charizard looked fierce and also determined to win this battle.

"Lance has not surprisingly chosen his powerful Dragonite while Ash has chosen his Charizard! This battle will no doubt be a test of power and strength between these two Pokémon! Folks, we are in for a treat!"

(Pokémon Theme Song, _The First Movie_ version by Billy Crawford)

_I want to be the very best_

_Like no one ever was_

_To catch them is my real test_

_To train them is my cause_

_Ooh-ooh-ooh!_

"Dragonite, use Fire Punch!" Responding, Dragonite's fist becomes covered in red-orange flames and aims its fist at Charizard.

"Charizard, dodge and use Flamethrower!" Charizard then dodges the Fire Punch and breathes fire on Dragonite, causing it to lose its balance, but not for long.

_I will travel across the land_

_Searching far and wide_

_Teach Pokémon to understand_

_The power that's inside_

_(Power inside)_

"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!" Dragonite's claws then glow white and it slashes Charizard in the face, sending it sliding across the stadium.

"Hang in there, Charizard! Use Air Slash!" Charizard gets up and attacks with a blade of air that slices even the sky. Dragonite manages to dodge the attack.

_Pokémon... It's you and me_

_I know it's my destiny_

_(Pokémon!) _

_Ooh, you're my best friend_

_In a world we must defend_

_Pokémon! _

_A heart so true_

_Our courage will pull us through_

_You teach me and I'll teach you_

_Po-ké-mon_

_(Gotta catch 'em) _

_Gotta catch 'em_

_Gotta catch 'em all_

"Now Dragonite, use your Fire Blast!" With Charizard caught off guard, Dragonite takes in a deep breath and releases a ball of yellow-orange fire from its mouth. The ball of fire then turns into a 大-shaped flame that is fired straight at Charizard, causing him to fly backwards.

"Charizard!" Thankfully for Ash, Charizard manages to get back up. "Alright Charizard! Now, use Skull Bash!" Charizard then flies up and strikes the opponent with its head at high speed.

_Ev'ry challenge along the way_

_With courage I will face_

_I will battle ev'ry day_

_To claim my rightful place_

"Now Dragonite, Solar Beam!" Dragonite's eyes glow white and an orange ball forms in front of Dragonite's mouth. The ball turns into a beam and it fires at Charizard.

"Charizard, use _your_ Solar Beam!" Charizard's eyes then glow white and an orange ball forms in front of Dragonite's mouth. The ball turns into a beam and it fires at Dragonite's Solar Beam, causing an explosion.

_Come with me, the time is right_

_There's no better team, yeah!_

_Arm in arm we'll win the fight_

_It's always been our dream_

_(It's always been our dream) _

As the smoke filled the stadium, both Ash and Lance looked around frantically to see their Pokémon were still standing. And sure enough as the smoke cleared both Pokémon stood there, painting and tired but still willing to fight. Dragonite was just a little more tired than Charizard, which was exactly what Ash wanted. "Alright, Charizard!" he said.

_Pokémon... It's you and me_

_I know it's my destiny_

_(Pokémon!) _

_Ooh, you're my best friend_

_In a world we must defend_

_Pokémon... A heart so true_

_Our courage will pull us through_

_You teach me and I'll teach you_

_Po-ké-mon_

_(Gotta catch 'em) _

_Gotta catch 'em_

_Pokémon!_

"Well, Ash, I'm impressed how well you have trained your Pokémon. But it won't save you! Now Dragonite, use Dragon-tail!" A light blue glow spreads up Dragonite's tail, until the whole tail glows light blue. It then aims the tail straight at Charizard.

"Charizard, dodge and use Dragon Rage!" Charizard's eyes glow white, then the flame on its tail grows to a huge size. It then forms a ball of fire in its mouth and releases a fiery inferno at Dragonite, knocking it off guard. "Now finish it off with a Seismic Toss!" Charizard grabs Dragonite, flies into the sky, spins around, zooms back down, and tosses its opponent into the ground for more damage, using the momentum of the dive. Charizard stands back as it watches Dragonite struggle to stand up.

_Pokémon... It's you and me_

_I know it's my destiny_

_Pokémon, ooh you're my best friend_

_In the world we must defend_

_Pokémon... A heart so true_

_Our courage will pull us through_

_You teach me and I'll teach you_

_Po-ké-mon_

_(Gotta catch 'em)_

_Gotta catch 'em _

_Gotta Catch 'em all_

_Pokémon!_

And then it collapsed.

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Charizard wins! The winner of the match and the competition is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" The crowds stand up and cheer for the new champion. Charizard stands a victory pose and breathes fire aimlessly in the air. Lance is surprised at his loss but smiles and nods at his opponent.

"This is history in the making, folks! Ash Ketchum at the age of 10 is now the youngest Pokémon Trainer ever to become a Pokémon Master!"

Ash stands there in shock. _Did-Did I really... win? This has to be a dream! _He pinches himself in the arm. _OW!... I'm ... I'm not dreaming! _"I won... I WON! CHARIZARD, WE WON!" He rushes to Charizard and hugs his Dragon Pokémon. As soon as he got over to Charizard, Pikachu runs towards them and jumps on top of Ash happily. "WE DID IT, PIKACHU!" WE DID IT!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" (Victory is ours!)

Ash and his two Pokémon were then joined by Ash's three traveling partners: Serena, a fashionable girl who met Ash before their journey once when they were younger, Clemont, a very young inventor, and Bonnie, Clemont's cheerful little sister. "Congratulations, Ash!" Serena said while hugging Ash tightly, just before kissing Ash on the cheek. The kiss startled Ash at first but then thought nothing of it.

"Uh, thanks Serena," Ash said blushing. Serena giggles. Unbeknownst to Ash, Serena has had a huge crush on him since they met years ago at the Pokémon Summer Camp back in Kanto, where Ash is from. She had gotten lost in the nearby forest and was scared out of her mind by a Poliwag, causing her to fall over and injure her knee. Ash just so happened to be in the forest looking for the same Poliwag when he found the injured girl. Being the chivalrous kid he was, he ran over to to her, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her injured knee. He then advised to never give up and then escorted her out of the forest. She then returned to her home in Kalos, keeping the memory of Ash close to her heart. Years later, Ash journeys to Kalos where he meets Clemont and Bonnie and is reunited with Serena. Serena had to try a few times to remind Ash of their previous encounter before finally returning the same handkerchief Ash gave her for knee. After Ash finally remembered who she was, Serena joined him on the rest of his journey up to this point, the Pokémon World Competition. This whole time she had secretly loved Ash, and she vowed that right after the competition ceremony she would tell him.

While the group was celebrating, a hot air-balloon that looked like a Meowth floated above the stadium without anyone noticing them. Inside the balloon's basket, three figures stalked Ash and the gang with their binoculars. There was a woman with long, purple hair that went down candy cane-style and a man with a blue mullet. Both of them wore white uniforms with an "R" symbol on the chest. With them was a cat-like Pokémon known as a Meowth. Unlike most Pokémon, this Meowth seemed to have the ability to talk, which he (it for sure was a he) taught himself to do. These three continued spying on Ash throughout his match and became more interested when he won.

"Well what do you know," the woman said. "The twerp finally won a competition."

"I guess he finally becomes a Pokémon Master now," the man said.

"Humph. Sure took him long enoughs," the Meowth complained.

"You know what this means, team?" the woman said with an evil grin on her face. "That Pikachu of his is of more worth than ever now!"

"But why just steal Pikachu when we can steal the twerp's entire team? Now that he's a Pokémon Master, all his Pokémon will be very valuable."

"Yeah! The Boss would surely give us raises and promotions now!"

"Alright, team, let's steal ourselves some Pokémon!"

"YEAH!"

"COUNTS ME IN!"

"WOBBUFFET!"

Later at the award ceremony, Ash, his three friends, and all 70 of his Pokémon (Bayleef, Boldore, Buizel, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, Charizard, Corphish, Donphan, Fearow, Fletchling, Froakie, Gible, Glalie, Gliscor, Heracross, Infernape, Kingler, Krookodile, Lapras, Muk, Noctowl, Oshawott, Palpitoad, Pidgeot, Pikachu obviously, Primeape, Quilava, Sceptile, Snivy, Snorlax, Squirtle, Staraptor, Swadloon, Swellow, a herd of 30 Tauros, Tepig, Torkoal, Torterra, Totodile, and Unfezant) were awaiting the award. **(Author's notes: I know, he either released or gave away some of these Pokémon. Lets just assume they returned prior to this story to support Ash in his greatest competition yet)** They were then greeted by Lance, who just so happened to be the man to present Ash with the trophy and the Medal of Masters. But before Ash received his well deserved rewards, smog filled the arena causing everyone in the stadium to cough and their eyes to water. Ash then suddenly heard what sounded like evil laughter from a woman. _Oh no. I know that laugh. _Suddenly as the smog cleared, the three sinister characters from the Meowth hot air-balloon appeared.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, and fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"WOBBUFFET!"

"Mime Mime!"

"IT'S TEAM ROCKET!" yelled Ash, his friends, and Lance.

"PI PIKA PIKA!" (OH NO! NOT YOU GUYS AGAIN!)

"Who were you expecting? The Super Mario Bros.?" taunted James.

"Umm, who's that, Jimmy?" asked Meowth.

"Oh never mind."

"Why can't you guys just leave us alone?!" screamed Ash.

"When you turn 11, we will consider it," taunted Jessie. **(Author's notes: Knowing the fact that the series has been around for 17 years and Ash has been 10 all this time, it's not going to happen anytime soon LOL)** "Anyways, let me present to you the debut of the returning members of Team Rocket, Weezing and Arbok, along with some new recruits, the Koffing and Ekans Army." Just then, a purple Pokémon consisting of two spherical heads connected by a thin tube with another sphere in the center and a serpentine Pokémon with purple scales over most of its body came right behind them, along with a group of smaller, purple single-sphere Pokémon and smaller, purple serpentine Pokémon with yellow stripes following them. Suddenly, six more Pokémon showed up along side them: Pumpkaboo, Inkay, Seviper, Yanmega, Carnivine, and Cacnea. (Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. are already up front with Jessie and James) "With them at our side once again, along with our complete arsenal of Pokémon, Team Rocket now has the perfect team to beat and steal all your precious Pokémon. Better say your goodbyes to Pikachu, twerp, while he still stands by you. Mwhahahahaha!"

"We'll see about that! Go, Pikachu!" But before Pikachu had the chance to react, James pulled out a box that unleashed a metal hand, flying towards Pikachu and instantly grabbing the Pokémon. "Ah! Pikachu!"

"Just thought we should warn you first, twerp," James said menically. "Weezing, Koffing Army, use sludge!" At that command, both Weezing and the Koffing Army spew dark brown sludge from their mouth at Ash and the gang.

"Pidgeot, Staravia, Pidove, use Gust!" Ash's three bird Pokémon flap their wings at a high speed and releases a strong gust of wind from them, blowing away the sludge on to Jessie's face.

"AHH! HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY GORGOUS FACE! ARBOK, EKANS ARMY, POISEN STING NOW!" Right away, Arbok and the Ekans Army open their mouths and fires multiple white darts from their mouths at the bird Pokémon, pushing them away.

"Bayleaf, Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" Razor-sharp leaves come out from under Bulbasaur's bulb and fly into the snakes while Bayleef swings its head and multiple razor-sharp leaves fly out from the leaf on its head and into the snakes.

Now Team Rocket was furious, especially Jessie. "THAT'S IT!" she screamed. "SEVIPER, POISEN TAIL! PUMPKABOO, USE LEECH SEED!" The dagger part of Seviper's tail starts to glow purple and Seviper hits Bayleaf with it. Pumpkaboo shoots several seeds from its mouth into the ground. The seeds immediately grow into vines that latch onto Bulbasaur and drained it of its energy.

Now it was Serena's turn to join the fight. "Fennekin, use Flamethrower on her Seviper!" Fennekin releases a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Seviper, saving Bayleaf.

"Quilava, use _your _Flamethrower on her Pumpkaboo!" Quilava fires up the flames on its head and back and it releases a spiraling red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Pumpkapoo, causing it to release its attack on Bulbasaur.

Now it was James's turn to avenge Jessie. "Inkay, Double Team!" At that moment, Inkay creates dozens of copies of itself around Ash and the gang. "Now, use Psybeam!" Inkay and its clones then flip upside down and fire streaky blue beams with pink circles inside it their mouths at the Pokémon in its trap. "Looks like the tide has turned in our favor this time, twerp!"

"Not if I can help it! Dragonite, use Solar Beam!" yelled Lance. Once again, Dragonite's eyes glow white and an orange ball forms in front of Dragonite's mouth. The ball turns into a beam and it fires at the Inkays, putting an end to Double Team and Psybeam. The impact sends Inkay flying into the metal hand holding Pikachu, releasing him from its grip.

Ash saw his chance to put an end to this battle once and for all. "Alright Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" And with a mighty "Pikaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed an furocious Thunderbolt onto Team Rocket and their Pokémon, sending them once again flying off in the air.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAAIN!"

"WOBBA WOBB!"

'"Well, now that that's out of the way," Lance said as everyone took a quick breather before getting to the award ceremony. "Ash it is my honor and privilege to present you with the Pokémon World Competition trophy and the Medal of Master, the mark of a Pokémon Master. Congratulations."

"Wow," Ash said staring at his medal. It was a shiny golden medal. Almost looked like an Olypician medal except it had a Pokéball in the center. He then turned his head toward his Pokémon. "And I couldn't have done it without you guys. My family. Thank you." All his Pokémon smiled at him. Pikachu smiled and jumped towards him for a hug, which he received with open arms.

Later the afternoon, Ash gathered all his Pokémon in their Pokéballs, except for Pikachu who preferred to rest on Ash's shoulder, and then met his friends back at the hotel. "So where to next, Ash the Pokémon Master?" asked Clemont.

"Home. I can't wait to show my awards to my mom, Professor Oak, and all my friends back home," Ash said, still admiring his medal.

"Great. I've always wanted to meet Professor Oak. I've admired him for so long."

"Well, you won't be disappointed, Clemont."

"When do we leave?" asked Bonnie.

"First thing in the morning. (Yawn) I'm too sleepy right now. It's been a big day."

"Right," said Clemont. "You need your rest. See ya in the morning, Ash ol' buddy."

Night Clemont. Night Bonnie."

"Night. Don't let the Bug-Pokémon bite."

As Ash headed for his room, Serena was waiting for him. She decided that now was the time to tell him. "Hey Ash, can I-I tell you something real quick before you hit the sack?"

"Sure Serena. What's up?"

"I...I...I...I just wanted to congradulate you again, you know, on your victory."

"Oh. Thanks. Well, good night."

Good night, Ash. Sweet dreams." _Shoot! I blew it! Well, it doesn't matter. I'll tell him tomorrow. I sware it. Oh Ash. Sigh. I love you._

Inside his room, Ash waited till he knew everyone else was in bed. He then went to his backpack and quickly scrabbled around for something. Soon, he finally founded it: a pink, folded up handkerchief. This handkerchief was different than the one he gave to Serena. He didn't have this one quite as long. And yet there was something about this handkerchief that more special than anything else Ash ever owned. Ash then unfolded the handkerchief, revealing inside of it a fishing lure that was the cartoonist image of a red-headed girl with a ponytail on the side. the girl had a yellow tank top, blue shorts, red suspenders, and cerulean colored eyes which Ash could stare at for hours. Gazing at the handkerchief and lure, Ash's eyes began to tear up. He breathed heavily as he looked sadly into the eyes of the lure.

_Oh Misty, _he thought, _what I would have given to have shared this day with you._

Crying sliently, he slipped the lure back into the handkerchief, folded it back up, returned to his backpack, and then went back to bed, sleeping next to Pikachu.

* * *

Well, there you have it. Chapter 2. Comment on what you thought of it. And I know, Serena likes Ash a lot too. But don't worry. Ash only has eyes for a certain red-head. So then what could have possibly happen to make them go separate ways? Well, you will just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I'm gonna get started on Chapter 3 but no promises on me getting it done as fast as I got this one up. I still have finals in school you know. BLAH! Thank God this is my senior year. Well I gotta spilt. Catch ya guys later.


	3. Surprise and Gulit

Chapter 3 is done! Yay! This one would've went into Ash finding out what happened to Misty in Chapter 1, but I didn't want to go over 4,000 words. So anyways, this Chapter is more about Ash going over his feelings towards his closest friends and then into how he was affected by the incident that killed his friendship with Misty. And then Ash gets home and... well, read and see.

Note: each chapter in this story begins with Misty remembering her moments with Ash. Most of them will sound pretty familiar.

Warning: Again, this is a AAML story, but not a romance novel. Sheesh, how many times must I explain that. (LOL XD) By the way, for those of you that are Ikarishipping and/or Contestshipping fans, this chapter has some little hints for you. As for me, Pokeshipping forever!

And again, I don't own Pokémon. If I did, Brock would never have left.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Surprise and Guilt**

_We continued through the Viridian Forest on our way to Pewter City for Ash's first gym battle. He had just caught his first Pokémon, a Caterpie, and was so overjoyed he had himself a little party. Personally, I wouldn't have made such a big deal of catching Bug-type Pokémon. I absolutely hate Bug Pokémon! I don't care if their harmless or not! A bug is a bug, and they're gross! And yet, as I watched Ash throwing his little celebration for his first catch, I started to feel… something. I actually thought it was adorable. I was starting to think… HE was adorable. I didn't understand it at the time and I still don't understand it today, but I was beginning to develop something rather deep inside for him. Him! Ash Ketchum, the kid who stole and destroyed by bike who I told I would follow till he paid me back! Why? Why did it have to be him? To that question I will never know the answer. Well, when we had finally reached Pewter City, Ash headed straight for the Pewter City Gym. I knew Ash was dense and inexperienced, (he fought a bird-type with his bug-type. How dense and inexperienced can you get?) so I offered my help by offering my Pokémon, which where all water-type by the way, for the gym match. But being the stubborn kid he is, Ash just laughed and walked towards the gym. That of course made me angry. Later, I found out Ash lost to the Gym leader, Brock Slate, and found him trying to charge up Pikachu. I once again offered my help but once again he just laughs at my offer. This time I was fed up, so I just waited at the Pokémon Center, extremely ticked off. 'I swear he drives me crazy,' I thought to myself. This is true. He has driven me crazy ever since that day I met him. But then why was I getting these funny feelings inside of me for him of all immature people? I guess it's true when they say that love is a funny thing._

The next morning…

Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie packed their bags, gathered all their Pokéballs (except Bonnie who was too young to own a Pokémon), and headed off towards the docks. They got on the first cruise ship to Kanto and were on their way to Ash's homeland.

Ash couldn't wait to see his mom, Professor Oak, and his friends and show off his trophy and Medal of Masters to them, especially to Gary. When Ash first started his Pokémon quest, he and Ash were bitter enemies, always trying to out do each other any chance they got. Gary had some advanages while Ash had some others. Their rivalry finally came to an end when Ash defeated him in the Johto Sliver Conference. Though the two had become friends afterwards when Gary had quit training Pokémon and decided to become a Pokémon researcher like his grandfather, there still was some rivalry left in their relationship though now tamer and friendlier than it used to be. It became more of just teasing each other. Last he talked to Gary over the vidphone was a month and two weeks before the World Competition.

His mind then wondered off to his other friends. He could never forget Brock, his best human friend (Pikachu being his best Pokémon friend). He had traveled with him longer than anyone else, having traveled with Ash through Kanto after they met, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. He not only became one of Ash's closest friends, but he also cooked the meals, "mothered" him and the other travelers, couched him, and got him ready for any challenge and battle. (He also chased after every pretty girl who caught his eye, but that's another story.) He kind of became Ash's big brother. There was no other friend he could talk to about things better than to Brock. Even after Brock had left to become a Pokémon doctor, the two best friends still kept in touch and texted or called each other whenever they got the chance. Last he talked to Brock was the day right before the World Competition when Brock gave his usual encouragement and of course teasing to Ash as all good best friends do. Honestly, Ash couldn't ask for a better brother.

He then thought of May and her brother Max, his traveling partners, along with Brock, during his journey through the Hoenn region and the Battle Frontier in Kanto. May was always the very sweet and optimistic girl of Ash's traveling partners and plus probably the closest to being a girl version of Ash due to the fact that she always ENJOYED eating. She at first was a very under-confident girl for a while and then sometimes became a real go-getter type of confident person. When it came to certain things, she could be a glass half-full type of a straight woman that she is. However, May was always a sweetheart and a loyal friend to Ash and Brock when she traveled with them and she never stopped. Since she left to go on with her own dreams of being a Top Coordinator, she and Ash had kept in touch, though not as often as Ash did with Brock. Last he heard from her was a month before the World Competition when she cheerfully told Ash over the vidphone that she was now in a relationship with Drew, her former rival whom she had a secret crush on for awhile.

As for her little brother Max, he was kind of the brains of the Hoenn team. Though he wasn't old enough to be a Pokémon Trainer, he still had a great knowledge of all things Pokémon for an 8 year old, even though sometimes it got on his sister's nerves causing the two to go into an all out sibling battle. But the two really did love each other and Max really started to look up to Ash during their travels through Hoenn. After leaving with his sister, he told Ash he wanted to became a great Pokémon trainer one day. Ash then promised him that when he became one, they would have a battle. Ash last heard from Max the same time as May when he begged her constantly to speak to Ash. When May finally gave in, Max then, much to Ash's dismay, spent an half hour on the vidphone telling Ash about the new Pokémon facts he had just learned before May finally took the phone away from him. Ash then spent the next half hour watching the two siblings bickering again. _Just like old times, _he thought to himself, smiling and shaking his head.

Next on his mind was his friend from Sinnoh, Dawn, who (along with her Pokémon Piplup) was always notable for her confidence, since she almost always tries to look towards the future rather than dwell on her mistakes. Dawn was overly confident and assured in her own strength at the beginning of her journey, much like Ash was. She had quickly became close friends with Ash and Brock on their journey through Sinnoh, though proved to be more girly than May was. Dawn always enjoyed Pokémon Contests and left Ash and Brock soon after their journey together ended and headed for Hoenn, since Hoenn is the region Contests originated from, with her dream of becoming a Top Coordinator. Because of that, she became close friends with May. She kept in touch with Ash as often as May did, if not more. Last Ash heard from her was a week after he last talked to May. She talked awhile about the latest Contest she had participated in and then told Ash about her recent relationship with Paul, Ash's brutal former rival back in Sinnoh who later became a friend of his and obviously Dawn.

He then thought of the rest of his friends: Tracey who travelled with him through the Orange Islands, Iris and Cilan who traveled with him through the Unova region, Richie who he became fast friends with during their first encounter at the Indigo Plateau Conference, Todd the photographer, Melody, Casey, Duplica, Ralph, Emily, Giselle, Erika, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Whitney, Suzie, Cheryl, Barry, Kenny, Zoey, Angie, Lyra, Khoury, Bianca, Luke, Stephen, Cameron, Anabel, N, Alexa, and some others, whom he all met during his travels. He even considered Drew and Paul as his friends now, even though Paul was still a grump and Ash considered Drew kind of a weirdo. Nevertheless, he always enjoyed having such good friends.

But out of all the friends on his mind, there was one in particular that kept coming back to his mind constantly. No matter how hard Ash tried to keep these thoughts out (which weren't dirty thoughts, btw), his thoughts kept returning to the memories of a very close friend he once had: a red-headed girl that resembled the fishing lure Ash kept (minus the cartoonish look). As much as he tried, he never could forget that girl. She had the temper of a Gyarados (meaning VERY hot tempered) and yet a heart of gold. She was hard to get along with and at the same time she wasn't. He teased her about her looks and yet deep down thought she was an angel of God (with attitude). She was very argumentive and stubborn and yet so was he. She was there since the first day of his journey, since she fished him out of the lake followed by him "borrowing" her bike. He remembered her vowing to follow him to the ends of the earth till he paid her back for her bike. He remembered all his travels with her: Kanto, Orange Islands, and Johto. He remembered all the times they constantly argued, all the times they laughed, all the times they cried, all the times they couldn't stand being near each other, and all the times they enjoyed each other's company. In the end, they were the bestest of friends. Ash actually felt closer to her than anyone else, even more than Brock and Pikachu. He never admitted this to anyone, but deep down, Ash could have sworn there was some weird feelings he was developing for her...

Then that painful day came when she left. Her sister's were going on a cruise and she had to go home and take care of the Gym. It was at that point the worst day of his life. It felt like his best friend just died. He never saw her after that except for a couple of times, which seemed too short for him. Once when her Togepi evolved into a Togetic, once again when they investigated some Mirage Pokémon together, and then after his return from Hoenn where she was waiting at his house for him to arrive. It felt good to see her again and again whenever he had the chance. Then it all ended. On the day before he left for Sinnoh, their friendship met an devastating end. On that day, Ash felt his world was over. He made a huge mistake that consequently ended his relationship with his closest friend. He never saw her again. Afterwards, Ash never told anyone what happened, not to his mom, or Brock, or even Pikachu. They all just assumed Ash was too busy on his journeys to call her or pay a visit. He did his best to cover his guilt and pain by only thinking Pokémon 24/7. The cover had worked. No one suspected Ash's true feelings. He still loved Pokémon and all, especially Pikachu, but he still felt empty inside. He realized how true it was that you don't know how much someone means to you till they're gone.

_It's all my fault we're not friends anymore. Forgive me, Misty, wherever you are._

Pikachu couldn't help but notice his best buddy looking depressed, but he didn't understand why. Ash had just won the World Competition and finally fulfilled his dream, and yet he still looked unhappy. Being the ever so loyal Pokémon he was, a very concerned Pikachu walked over to his master.

"Pika chu Pika, Pikapi?" (Are you ok, Ash?)

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm find, Pikachu."

"Chu Pi Pika Pika." (You don't look like you're find.)

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm fine. Never felt better. I'm just thinking about the friends we haven't seen in a while." That last part at least was true.

"Pika, Chu Pi Pi Pika." (Ok, if you say so.)

Ash smiled a fake smile at his little buddy, the same fake smile he wore since that last day with Misty. It always pained him to lie to him and all his other friends, human and Pokémon, but he didn't want them to know what a jerk he was to his best friend that day.

That day...

He remembered it well...

Too well...

After about a five hour cruise, Ash and the gang finally made it to Kanto. Luckily, they weren't that far from Pallet Town. Ash couldn't wait to get home, Clemont couldn't wait to meet the infamous Professor Oak, Serena couldn't wait to tell Ash how she felt about him, Pikachu couldn't wait to get his paws on some ketchup, **(Author's notes: Still a better love story than Twilight) **and Bonnie...well, she just couldn't wait. When they finally got to Pallet, Ash noticed that the place hadn't changed a bit. But of course it never did, and that was ok. It was nice living in a quiet, little town like Pallet, though Ash still thought it could use a Pokémon Gym. Just a thought, you know. Nonetheless, Ash quickly ran towards his house with his friends trying to catch up with him. Ash expected to find his mom at the front door, waiting with open arms, but she wasn't there. He looked inside. The only other being in the house was his mom's Pokémon Mr. Mime, doing his usual routine of cleaning house. He asked the Pokémon where his mom was. With Pikachu translating, (by now, Ash and Pikachu had bonded so closely Ash could understand the exact words his Poké-companion was saying) Mr. Mime told him Delia was out to run some errands. Not really willing to just sit and wait, Ash and his friends headed to their next stop- Professor Oak's Laboratory.

When they got there, Ash knocked on the door but no one answered. He knew someone was home cause he could see the Professor's car out front. He knocked again. Nothing. He then figured the Professor was out back so he headed for the backyard to see if he was right. They had just turned the corner to the backyard when suddenly...

"SURPRISE!"

Ash was surprised indeed. There he was with his four companions (counting Pikachu of course)infront of almost everyone he knew. There was his mom Delia, Professor Oak, Gary, Brock, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Professor Birch, Richie, Todd, Melody, Casey, Duplica, Ralph, Emily, Giselle, Erika, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Whitney, Suzie, Cheryl, Barry, Kenny, Zoey, Angie, Lyra, Khoury, Bianca, Luke, Stephen, Cameron, Anabel, N, Professor Juniper, Alexa, Drew & Paul, (who where both brought by May and Dawn respectively) and even the Elite Four among others. Everyone of them was there to congratulate their friend, the young new Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum. He was then welcomed with hugs, hand shaking, kisses from his mother, high-fives, and many "Congratulations, Ash."

"Way to go, Ashy-Boy," teased Gary with the nickname Gary gave Ash when they were rivals.

"You were awesome," cheered May, clapping gleefully.

"We never had a doubt you would pull through," complemented Max, giving Ash a high-five.

"Congrats to ya, champ," said Dawn, shaking his hand.

"My baby! I'm so proud," said Delia, squeezing Ash in a really tight, motherly hug.

"Well done, Ash. I knew you could do anything if you put your mind into it," said Professor Oak, nodding at the young man.

Ash felt great. Here he was with his dream finally fulfilled with the people he cared about and who cared about him back here to congradulate him. (He did notice that Tracey wasn't present, but figured he was running an errand for Professor Oak.) He couldn't have felt happier. Then he remembered who wasn't there- Misty. But then again, it wasn't surprizing. And yet, he still wished by some miracle she was only late to the party, though he knew it would've been too good to be true. Still, he couldn't let that bother him right now. He decided to do his best just to enjoy the party.

"Ash, man! How's it feel to be the Master, buddy?" asked Brock as the 15-year old walked over to hug and congradulate his best friend. Though the two have always kept in touch, it was always better when the two brothers got together in person.

"Well, it's something else. I gotta say I was hoping for a bigger crowd of people for a Master like me," Ash joked.

"Well, sorry, but most of Kanto had better things to do than bow down and worship Ash, the great and powerful," Brock joked sarcastically.

"So does that mean you still have no life cause you had nothing better to do?"

"Hahahaha! Yeah, I have no life because I don't fight birds with bugs and go through six competitions before I actually win something."

"At least girls like being around me."

"Ok, you got me there," he said taking Ash's hat off and giving him a nugi.

"Hey hey hey, quit," Ash said laughing.

"Speaking of girls, I wonder where Misty is? I know your mother sent her an invitation."

Ash really wished he did not bring up that name. He felt worse than when Brock heard Professor Ivy's name after "something" happened during the short period he was working for her. Only Ash did his best to play it cool. "I-I guess she was, uh, just too busy at the Gym."

"Yeah, your probably right. I know she would have been happy to see you. I can never forget how close you two were when the three of us were traveling together. It was something else."

"All we did was argue all the time. She probably was glad to get me out of her hair when she left us."

"Now come on, Ash, you know that's not true. Granted you two did argue constantly. And it did normally end with you getting walloped with her mallet," he chuckled at that part and Ash sweatdropped, "but I could tell guys had something special between you two. And when you guys weren't biting each other's heads off, your's more than her's, you guys joked, played games together with both of yours and her Pokémon, cheered for each other at Pokémon matches, and constantly talked Pokémon strategies. I could tell you guy were compatable, even during the times you guys didn't think so. When was the last time you talked to her, by the way?"

Ash hesitated to answer. That was the one subject he so deeply wanted to avoid. He couldn't tell Brock the truth. Not now anyway. "Uh, it must have been quite awhile ago. I have been so busy with my journeys I haven't gotten the chance," he lied. "Besides, I don't know what her schedule is like so I would never know when to call or even text her. Uh, when was the last time _you_ talked to her?" he asked nervously.

"Actually to be honest, you are probably the only other person other than my dad and siblings I get a chance to call these days since I started Pokémon Med School. I text just about everyone else: Tracey, May, Dawn, Gary, Max, and a couple others. I texted Misty a couple of times, but she never responses. She's probably just as busy as you and me have been lately."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's probably it." Ash was relieved. He was afraid Misty might have said something to him about what happened. Yet by the sound of it, he hasn't heard from her in awhile.

"Well, what do you say we go and enjoy the rest of the party. I know there still are some people here who want to talk to you. Plus, I think your mom is bringing out the cake."

"Great! I'm starving!"

Brock couldn't help but laugh. "Same ol' Ash."

Ash smiled at his long-time friend, but inwards he didn't have the strength to be happy. _Same ol' Ash, Brock? If only that were true._

The party continued, unaware of the dangers already taken place in Cerulean City just the day before.

* * *

Well there it is. Chapter 3. Whew. Hope you guys enjoyed. Review and tell me what you thought. I always enjoy getting feedback. And for those of you who are fans of Iris and Cilan, sorry but this is as far as their roles are in this story. Again, sorry. I just never was a fan of those two. Anyways, I hope that doesn't keep you awesome readers out there from reading the rest of this story as I continue to write it. Well, I gotta split. Gotta catch ya later. (Sniff, now why did I have to go and reference THAT episode? It's the only episode I have cried through. CURSE YOU, NINTENDO! IF YOUR GAMES WEREN'T SO AWESOME...)


	4. Disaster in Cerulean

Chapter 4 is here! Happy days are here again! YAY! Anyways, I am now out of school (WHOOOOO!) so other than the times I have to go to work, or of course camp because the camp I go to is the best place ever, I now have plenty of time till college to get as much done of this story as possible.

Note: The beginning of each chapter... well, you know by now, Misty's memories with Ash.

Warning: Pokeshipping is the whole purpose of this tale. Ash and Misty were made for each other. Why can't Nintendo realize that, for crying out loud?!

And I still don't own Pokémon - YET! HEHEHE! MWAHAHAHA! *ahem sorry. So, anyways enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Disaster in Cerulean**

_After leaving Pewter City, me and Ash, along with our new friend Pewter City's gym leader Brock, continued off to get Ash's second badge that he needed to take part in the Indigo Plateau Conference. Unfortunally, we had gotten ourselves lost on our way to our next destination because ASH wanted to take a shortcut. The idiot obviously didn't know where he was going an ended up getting us farther lost than we wanted to be. This of course made me raging with annoyance and anger and it is never wise to make me angry, as Ash was soon to get used to. "Way to go, Mr. __Pokémon __ Master Wannabe! You have officially gotten us lost!" I yelled. At that moment I started off one of our first arguments, with Ash yelling things like that he apparently knows where he is going and me yelling stuff like that he wouldn't know if had ran into a brick wall. We went on and on with our argument until Brock and Pikachu had enough. First Pikachu gave us a Thundershock to stop the fight and then Brock told us to calm down before the fight went to far so we can find our way back. He then had the nerve to make the comment "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you guys fight like you two __**like**__ each other." He then started laughing as me and Ash yelled as loud as we could at him screaming that we absolutely do not. Though I knew deep down it wasn't the case. Not for me anyway. I honestly didn't like yelling at Ash. For some reason, I thought he was too cute to yell at. And yet his denseness, huge head, and annoyance seemed to cloud over my (at the time) small crush on the boy and my feelings came out as anger and frustration. And it wouldn't be the last time either. Oh well. He always did look cute when we fought._

As the party continued...

Ash continued conversations with all his old friends. Not much had changed since he last saw most of them after he returned from Unova. They talked about their own journeys, dreams, their memories with the unforgettable Ash Ketchum, and asked Ash what his plans were now that he was finally a Master. All Ash could say to answer was he didn't know yet. All he wanted to do now was just enjoy the fact that his dream has finally came true.

Or so he thought.

Later that day, most of the guests had to leave and get home. All who were left were Ash, Delia, Professor Oak, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Brock, Gary, May, Max, Dawn, and their respective Pokémon. All of them, except the Professor, decided to head back to the Ketchum household. Ash then invited them to spend the rest of the weekend with him. His friends accepted his offer, though Gary had to return to Professor Oak's for the night and Clemont and Bonnie had to return home to Kalos the next day. They then ate dinner, continued to converse and laugh over old times, and then the kids went to go see a movie. After the movie, Gary headed back to his grandfather's lab as the rest of the group returned to Ash's house. They decided their sleeping arrangements and then went off to bed. Delia, Ash, and Serena were the last ones up. Delia decided to watch some TV in her room before going to sleep. Ash had just decided to turn in when Serena made her way towards him. _Now's my chance. I'm going to tell him. I can do this. I can do this. _"Umm, hi Ash," she said shyly.

Ash looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Uh hi Serena."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Oh sure. What's up?"

_This is it! Let it all out, girl! Give him all you've got! _"Ash.. I-I just wanted to say that I've enjoyed traveling with you and getting to know you more. And I... I want to continue doing so. I know Clemont and Bonnie said they were going to return to Kalos tomorrow, but I... I.. I want to stay with you as long as I can. I like you, Ash. As a matter of fact I.. I... I... ILOVEYOU!" And with that she quickly ran into the guest room she was sharing with May and Dawn, afraid of rejection.

Ash stood there in shock. _What just happened? Serena... LOVES ME?! _He considered going in there and talk to her but then of course pushed the idea aside knowing that was where the girls were sleeping. And he knew better than to invade the privacy of the opposite sex. Figuring he could just talk to her in the morning, he made his way to his room.

Pikachu was just getting himself ready to hit the sack when Ash came in. And he seemed to have something on his mind. As Ash sat down on his bed, the little yellow mouse Pokémon jumped on top of his lap. "Pikachu, Pikapi?" (What's up, Ash?) he asked the master he loved.

Ash looked down at his little PokéPal and smiled but then looked back up with his face again turning serious. "Well as it turns out, Serena seems to be... in love with me."

"Pika Pika Pikachu Chu?" (And how do you feel about her?)

"You how I feel about her, buddy. I like her as.. a brother loves his sister. I just can't return her feelings."

"Pi Pi Chu Pika Pikachpi, Kachu?" (You still have feelings for Misty, don't you?)

Ash looked at Pikachu with shock. That's twice someone has brought up him and Misty that day. As he did since they traveled together, he denied his feelings. "Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, Pikachu."

Pikachu was by now fed up with the same old denial he had to deal with for a long time. "Pika Pika Pi Pi Pikachu! Kachu Pi Pika Chu Pikachupi! Pikachu Pikachu Pika!" (Enough with the denial! We all know you are in love with Misty! Just own up to it already!)

As much as Ash hated to admit it, Pikachu was right. Though he never admitted to anyone, especially not to his closest friends, Ash had long ago fallen in love with his once best friend. But after they weren't even friends anymore, he tried his best to get over that feeling but he never could. He still was very much in love with her even though now he knew because of him they would definitely never be together. Ash then took a deep breath and sighed deeply. "Alright, Pikachu, you win. I like Misty. A lot. Heck, I love her. I have since that night at Maiden's Peak." **(Author's Notes: Those of you who are true ****Poké fans know what episode I'm talking about. For those of you who don't, I'll explain later)**

"PIKACHU!" (FINALLY!)

"But it doesn't matter, Ash sighed sadly. "Not anymore. She could never love me back."

Pikachu looked at his master with a concerned look on his face. "Pi Pika Pikachu Chu Kachu?" (Because of the fight you two had before Sinnoh?)

This startled Ash. "HOW DID YOU KNOW...?"

"Pika Pi Pika Pika Chu." (I know more about you than you think.)

"So... then you know she and I aren't friends anymore, right?" Pikachu nodded. "Well there go. How could she share the same feelings for me that she probably never had in the first place after how horribly I treated her that day?"

"Pikachu Pika, Pikapi. Pi Chu Pika Pikachupi Pi Pi Pi Kachu Kachu Pikachu." (You can't give up, Ash. I'm sure if you apologize to Misty with all your heart she would forgive you.)

"Buddy, what I did is pretty unforgivable."

"Chu, Pika Pika Chu Pi Pi Chu. Pi Chu Kachu Pika" (Still, that was a long time ago. You've matured a lot since then.)

"It's too late anyways, Pikachu. (sigh) I really don't want to talk about it, ok buddy?"

Pikachu sighed sadly. "Pikachu. Pika Kachu Pi Chu Pika, Pi?" (Alright. But if you need to talk I'm here, ok?)

Ash smiled. "Thanks pal," and then gave his first Pokémon a hug. "I don't know where I'd be today without you."

"Cha!"

Ash then got ready for bed. He had just got in his pajamas and got himself situated in his bed when suddenly he heard his mother scream, "ASH! EVERYONE! GET IN HERE QUICK!"

Without a second of hesitation, Ash quickly jumped out of his bed and ran towards his mom's room with Pikachu right behind him. By the time he got there, Brock and the others were already right by his mom, all with shocked, worried, and scared expressions on their faces. "What's going on?!" asked a worried Ash.

"Look!" Delia said, pointing at the TV screen. And what Ash saw made him stand back with a more shocked and scared expression than anyone else in the room. _Oh no._ On the TV, it showed a news broadcast showing the Sensational Sisters (Daisy, Violet, and Lily Waterflower) talking to some reporters. They looked scared, worried, and- they were crying. Ash could see why. Behind them, he could see the flaming remains of the Cerulean City Gym as the Squirtle Squad were doing their best to put the fire out but with no prevail. He then noticed Tracey, who looked injured but alright, in the back. But what made things worst was the lack of the fourth and youngest of the Sensational Sisters- Misty! _Where could she be?! Calm down, Ash. She's probably getting any injured Pokémon to the Cerulean Pokémon Center as quickly as possible. Yeah! That's got to be it! It just has to be!... Misty, please be alright!_

_"As you can see, the Squirtle Squad still are unable to put out the fire from the explosion that destroyed the once beautiful Cerulean City Gym just yesterday. No Pokémon were hurt, thanks to this young man, Tracey Sketchit," _the reporter said pointing to Tracey. _"We are finally joined by the Sensational Sisters, the older sisters of the missing Gym Leader Misty Waterflower, victim of yesterday's unfortunate event." Wait, MISSING!? VICTIM!? _Ash thought, panicking._ "Could you please tell the viewers at home how you came to hear the news of your gym and your beloved younger sister?"_

_"Well," _sobbed the oldest sister Daisy, _"We had just got back to the hotel we were staying in back at Mandarin Island North of the Orange Islands after a long photo shoot. We were getting ready to go to a party with some friends of ours when we received a call from Tracey. He told us that... that...,"_ she suddenly fell down on her knees crying uncontrollably, unable to finish.

Violet continued, but had trouble herself holding back the tears._ "He told us that... he went over to the Gym to.. deliver some Pokémon food. They were talking while watching the Pokémon World Competition on the TV when suddenly the doorbell rang. Tracey told us no one was there when he answered the door. He went back inside to hear our sister scream so he ran to save her, but it was... too... too late!" _Violet then joined her sister in crying uncontrollably.

Lily finished, fighting her own tears. _"All he found were the Pokémon, all injured,... the TV and glass all over the floor,.. and then... he f-found blood on the floor. OUR sister's blood! He was able to save all the Pokémon and jump out of the window before our Gym was destroyed... all the Pokémon survived, he survived, but... there was no sign... of... her." _The three sisters couldn't take it anymore. The thought of losing their younger sister whom they loved dearly was too much to bear. They were then taken to the side by Officer Jenny who did her best to comfort the three.

_"There you have it, folks. There is still no sign of the Gym Leader of Cerulean City, Misty Waterflower. Though there is no sign of a body in the ruins of the Gym so far, police are still on a frantic search. We must keep her sisters in prayer as they wait for the outcome of Misty. We must all hope for the best." _At that point, Delia turned the TV off. Everyone in the room was shocked, especially those in the room who knew Misty personally.

"I-I can't believe this happened to Misty," May said in shock.

"Not in a million years would I think this would ever happen to her," Delia cried.

Silence.

"You're awfully quiet over there, Ash. You ok?" Brock asked. But there was no answer. "Ash?" He looked around. Ash wasn't in the room anymore. Suddenly, everyone in the room jumped when they suddenly heard the front door get slammed shut. "Oh no!"

Ash, still in his pajamas, was running as fast as he could, with Pikachu hanging on for dear life on his pajama shirt's left sleeve. He only had one thing on his mind: get to Cerulean City ASAP to get some answers, in hopes of saving Misty's life, no matter what! _How could this happen to Misty?! She doesn't deserve this! If anyone deserves this kind of thing to happen to them its ME!_ Ash kept running and running. He was getting tired but he wouldn't stop running. With anger and determination in his eyes, he kept on going until after what seemed like hours, he was out of Pallet Town and he didn't stop there. Suddenly he collapsed, panting heavily. But with all his strength (and stubbornness) he got right back up and continued running. _Hang on, Misty! I'm coming for you! Please be ok!_

Just then, a car pulled over to where Ash had slowed down a bit to catch his breath. In the car was Brock, who was driving, and Gary. "Hold up there, Ash!" yelled Gary.

"DON'T TRY TO STOP ME, GUYS! MISTY IS IN TROUBLE AND I'M GOING TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE HER!"

"Ash, I've known you long enough to know that it's a pointless effort to try to stop you from doing something you have your mind set on, no matter how dangerous the situation is! We are NOT here to stop you!" yelled Brock.

"What? You're not?"

"No. But you're not going to get to Cerulean City quick enough just by running all the way there! You're not going to make it anyways without getting tired and possibly passing out by the way you have been running!"

"Well what do you expect me to do?!"

"Get in, genius!" yelled Gary as he opened the back door of Brock's car. Without questioning his friends' request to help, Ash then grabbed Pikachu and jumped into the back of the car. Brock then continued driving towards Cerulean.

When they finally got to where the Gym used to be, they found the reporters, police, Nurse Joy and her Chanseys, and the Squirtle Squad were still there doing their respective tasks. When the sobbing sisters of Misty looked up and saw Ash running towards them, their faces turned from sorrow and sadness to hatred and anger. "YOU!" they yelled simultaneously. One by one they walked over to Ash and slapped him REALLY hard, screaming, "YOU, LIKE, HAVE A LOT OF NERVE SHOWING UP HERE AFTER BREAKING OUR LITTLE SISTER'S HEART LAST TIME! I HOPE YOU'RE, LIKE, HAPPY NOW THAT SHE'S GONE, YOU JERK!"

"Huh?" asked the very confused Brock and Gary as they watched the show. "Ash, what are they talking about?" asked Gary.

Ignoring Gary, Ash got up, rubbed his sore cheek, and returned his attention at the three enraged sisters. He knew deep down they had a good reason to hate him. "Look, I know I can't take back what happened that day. But I must know if there is anything I can do to help find any trace of her."

"Like you care! Last we heard you, like, had yelled at her saying..!"

"I know what I said! I have regretted everyday of my life! But now is not the time to bring that back into place, ok? Now please tell me! Did whoever did this to her leave any clues?!"

"Humph. If you, like, want some information so badly go talk to Officer Jenny! We don't want anything to do with the likes of you, you... you... YOU!" Again the three girls slap Ash REALLY hard on the cheek. "JERK!" And then the three ran off crying uncontrollably.

Realizing that it was a lost cause talking to Misty's sisters, he took their advice and walked over to Officer Jenny, who was in the middle of questioning Tracey. Ash was amazed that he didn't see Brock already over there "confessing his undying love" for Officer Jenny, like he does with every other Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy or any other pretty girl Brock encountered. However, he figured that even Brock knew when to keep his hormones in check, especially since this was no time for the teenager to go into his girl-crazy mode.

"Excuse me, Officer Jenny," Ash said politely, "I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm.. an old friend of Misty. I was wondering you had anything that I could to do to help. Did whoever did this to her leave any clues?"

"As a matter of fact-," Officer Jenny started saying but stopped in mid sentence to take a good look at the kid in front of her. "Wait, aren't you Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, the newly acclaimed Pokémon Master?"

"Yes I am."

"Congratulations, by the way, Ash. Sorry I didn't make to your celebration party," stated Tracey.

"It's alright, Trace," Ash said smiling at his old friend.

"Well then," continued Officer Jenny, "this whole incident seems to concern you in some way or another."

"Wait... ME?!"

Jenny and Tracey both nodded. Jenny then removed a note from her pocket. "After Tracey here escaped the explosion, he quickly ran to the nearest phonebooth to call us. He found _this _by the phone." Ash took the note and read in horror as the note read: _**The Ketchum kid is next! **_"Ash, we believe that whoever destroyed the Gym and attacked Misty, and probably kidnapped her in the process, has you as his/her next target. Therefore, we regret to inform you that your life is now in grave danger."

Ash looked carefully at the note. There was something weird with the handwriting. It almost didn't seem like human handwriting. Then he saw that there was something else on the note: under the writing he saw a little smudge mark. He carefully picked at it until he saw something that made him gasp. "Officer Jenny, look!" She joined Ash at looking where the smudge was to see a bold **R **in it's place. Ash's expression then turned into a raged expression as he recognized that letter anywhere. "Officer, I think I know who did this!" Officer Jenny and Tracey both nodded in response. That letter was none other than the logo of the villainous organization known to all as:

_Team Rocket!_

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Chapter 4, people! There you have it! Review, please! I really would like to know what you all thought of it! And I realized my last chapter has some spelling errors so I quickly went back and fixed what I could find. Well, chapter 5 should hopefully be up next week. If time is kind to me that is. I hope you all have a good rest of the week. Well, I gotta split. See ya all later.


	5. The Quest Begins

Ugh! This chapter took me longer than I wanted to take on it! Well, at least it's done and ready for you all to read and weep. Just kidding, I don't want you to cry except for the sad parts. LOL XD Ahem. Anyways, enjoy Chapter 5 of the Quest for Misty saga. And don't forget to review.

Note: I'm done reminding you what happens at the beginning of each chapter. You people are smart enough to know what it is by now, am I right?

Pokeshiping rules! FOREVER! Ash and Misty sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Followed by a Pokémon battle. Probably Ash's idea. HEHEHE!

And I don't own anything Pokémon except this story Nintendo should've thought of. If I did own Pokémon, Ash would age at least once in a blue moon. (10 years old for 17 years? Are you kidding me?!) And Misty would never have left the show. And neither would've Brock.

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**Chapter 5: The Quest Begins**

_We finally made it to Ash's next gym destination, which was the LAST place I wanted to be - Cerulean City. Reason? That's where I am from. It's not that I didn't enjoy living there. Cerulean is home to some of the most beautiful water-type Pokémon in the entire region of Kanto. And being the water Pokémon lover I am, this was the perfect place for me to grow up. There is only one exception. On second thought, there are THREE: my three older sisters Daisy, Violet, and Lily, a.k.a. the Sensational Sisters. Humph, sensational my stinken mallet! Don't get me wrong, though. I love my sisters. With all my heart. It's just that they drive INSANE! There they are at the gym, always putting more emphasis our their "beauty" and their stupid gym shows than on actual battling. I mean, THAT is what Pokémon Gym is for, for crying out loud! Now the reason I didn't want to return there? Because I had ran away from those three telling them I wouldn't return till I became a Water Pokémon Master and staying in the gym with THOSE three wasn't going to get me anywhere. And yet, here I was being dragged back there by the doofus I was secretly falling in love with just so he could get another badge. What he densely didn't know was that my sisters are always so occupied with their other activities in the gym that they never actually battle challengers coming to the gym. They just GIVE away the badges. So after Ash figured out that they were my sisters and that yours truly is a certified Gym Leader (that's right, boys ;)), I took it upon myself to battle the kid. And I would've won too if it weren't for the annoying Team Rocket threesome to show up and interrupt the battle. After blasting them off once again, we decided that the battle ended in a draw, due to the unfortunate circumstances. (Well, it was more unfortunate for Team Rocket than us.) So, in the end, my sisters just gave the badge to Ash, kind of as an award for protecting the gym from Team Rocket. I tried to argue with them against it, but they convinced me that if Ash had used Pikachu from the start of the battle (Pikachu doesn't like battling his friends, especially the really pretty ones), he would have easily beaten all of my water Pokémon. In the end I agreed, half-heartedly, with them and vowed once again that when I returned from my journey with Ash I would be a great Water Pokémon Master. Sigh, if only things went as planned, for both the dream of being the Water Pokémon Master and... my other dream... my dream with him... my dream that was him..._

_him..._

_(starts crying) Oh, Ash..._

The next day, back at the Ketchum household...

Ash and his friends, with Tracey joining them, all sat at the kitchen table, discussing all that was revealed to them the night before: the destruction of the Gym, Misty getting attacked and kidnapped, the injured Pokémon, and the mysterious note threatening Ash's life. The note proved that Team Rocket was responsible for all that had happened. The question was now WHO from Team Rocket was responsible? And what were their plans of dealing with this unfortunate turn of events?

"We can know for sure it wasn't Jessie, James, and Meowth," stated Dawn. "They're too stupid to pull something that evil off and not fail in the process."

"And besides," continued May, "even those three aren't _that _evil." (Well, not anymore anyway, referring to the Unova/Black & White era)

"And even if it was them," continued Clemont, "they would've shown up with her as a wager for Pikachu when they crashed the Pokémon World Competition Ceremony. That is, if its true that you two share a strong bond as I have been lead to believe, Ash."

"No comment," grumbled Ash, still full with anger towards Team Rocket for what they did to Misty and still trying to keep his terrible secret... well, a secret, of course.

"And it couldn't have been Cassidy and... Bert," snickered Brock, knowing perfectly well that Cassidy's partner's name was actually Butch, **(Author's Notes: Jessie and James. Butch and Cassidy. I think there was also once Anne and Oakley. Nintendo likes making historical western figure gags like these for some reason. Not that I really mind)** but it was always so much fun for everyone to say his name wrong just to get him mad. "They were disbanded sometime after we encountered them in Sinnoh and are probably still in prison as we speak. So, they're obviously out of the question as well."

"Couldn't have been Giovanni," included Gary. "I don't thing he does much field work."

"Well, not anymore anyway," grumbled Ash.

His friends couldn't help notice how distressed Ash looked. Most of them knew Ash and Misty were best friends, so it made sense that he would be like this knowing she was in danger. They knew, even though Ash never admitted it, how much she meant to him. (even though Pikachu and Tracey were the only ones in the room who knew they weren't even friends anymore. Pikachu was the only one out of the two who knew why though.) "Ash, are you doing alright?" asked May. "I mean, you must be taking this harder than the rest of us."

"I'm fine. This just a lot to take in. I just can't believe someone would do something like this to her! It just makes me so mad!" He then stood from his seat and pounded his fist on the table. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not going to just sit here and let Team Rocket do Mew knows what to Misty! I'm going! I'm going to find and rescue her! And I sware when I get my hands on Team Rocket, I'll..."

"Ash, you can't!" yelled Serena, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Team Rocket has threatened _your_ life, too! If you go and try to rescue her they will for sure take you captive! They might even kill you!"

"I don't care what happens to me! Misty is my.. best friend!" _Well, was. _"And I will not stop trying to save her till she is found and back home safe! Besides... it's about time I paid her back for her bike."

His friends looked at each other. At that moment, they all thought the same thing. They nodded and then turned their attention back to Ash. Brock was the first to stand and speak up. "Well Ash, if you're going on this quest, then I'm going with you!"

"You-you are? No, Brock, I can't ask you to do that. What about your dream of becoming a Pokémon Doctor?"

"Well, I'm still going to be one, but Misty is just as much of my best friend as you are, Ash. She is in danger and you are going to need all the help you can get if you want to save her and stay safe yourself. Besides, medical school doesn't start till this fall and you can't tell me you haven't missed having me on your traveling squad, now can you?"

"Well, no I can't, but..."

"Count us in too, Ash," said May with Max nodding in agreement. "It's been ages since we have had the pleasure of traveling with you and I really liked Misty when we met. Besides, I haven't been on an adventure in a long time."

"Me either," agreed Max. "I'm always up for an adventure."

"And you can bet you're not doing this without _moi_," said Dawn, giving him a wink. "I may never have had met Misty before, but the way you talked about her during our travels and how obsessive you were over that lure she gave you, she sounds like a friend worth saving. And its like what Brock said, you'll need all the help you can get."

"I'm also in, Ashy-boy," stated Gary.

"Me too," said Tracey. _Maybe then I can also find out what happened between you and Misty that killed your friendship with her._

"Guys, I can't ask you to do this," pleaded Ash. "Its dangerous enough as it is for me going alone. I can't let you guys come with me. It would be putting your lives on the line as well. If I get captured, you guys will get captured. I don't want all my friend's lives at risk!"

Brock smiled. "Ash my friend, you don't have a say in the matter. We all knew the risks we were taking when we started our Pokémon journeys." Everyone nodded. "We are going with you on this quest and that's final. Just consider us your bodyguards/rescue team."

Ash tried to think of a good excuse, but he had no such luck. He then decided to just give in. _Besides, _he thought, _if I'm possibly going up against the whole Team Rocket just to find the one responsible I will need all the help I can get. _"Sigh. Alright, you guys win. You can come along."

"Again, its not like you had a say in the matter."

"Yeah, yeah." Ash then turned his attention to Clemont and Bonnie. "How about you guys? Up for one more quest or do you guys really have to get home?"

"We really have to get home. We're really sorry, Ash. We wish you the best of luck in finding your friend," said Clemont sadly.

"Yeah, ok. Thanks." Ash turned his attention to Serena. "And what about you, Serena? Still up to travel with me?" _I hope I'm doing the right thing by asking her to continue on with me, even though I can't return her feelings for me. I still want us to be friends, though. Mew, its gonna be hard telling her that. Why me? Why me, why me, why me, why me?_

Serena looked up at him and smiled. _Could it be... he feels... the same? Calm down, girl. He may just want you to join him and the rest of his friends. And yet.. he hasn't rejected me. Not that he exactly has had a chance to. Still... _"Sure. I'd be happy to help find your friend Misty." _After all, you couldn't possibly have feelings for her. I mean, she's probably just a really good friend of yours. Right? Well, anything for you, Ash my love._

"Hey great," Ash said, smiling at one of his oldest yet newest friend.

Afterwords, Ash and the gang got their stuff together and went off towards Professor Oak's laboratory, where their Pokémon, except Pikachu, were staying. Clemont and Bonnie walked with them there in order to pick up Clemont's Pokémon. They then said their good byes and Ash watched as his two newest friends head off on their own journeys and to fulfill their own dreams. He then joined the rest of his friends inside Professor Oak's lab, where they were explaining their plans of the journey to the Professor and Delia.

After finishing their explanation to the Professor and Ash's mom, Ash and crew returned to the back yard where their Pokémon were. Ash then stood in front of his friends, ready to get things into gear. "Alright then guys," he said, "best get together your six strongest Pokémon for this journey. We are going to need them for battle whenever we come across any Team Rocket members trying to capture or kill us, and since they definitely won't be the normal trio of idiots we face and probably will be dangerous, we all need to be prepared for the worse."

Everyone nodded and then picked out their respective strongest six Pokémon for their teams. Ash chose Pikachu **(Author's Notes: Honestly was there any doubt?)**, Charizard, Heracross, Krookodile, Glalie, and Snorlax. Brock chose Steelix, Geodude, Crobat, Forretress, Croagunk, and Sudowoodo. May chose Blaziken, Venusaur, Glaceon, Munchlax, Beautifly, and Wartortle. Dawn chose Piplup, Mamoswine, Togekiss, Quilava, Pachirisu, and Buneary. Gary chose Blastoise, Umbreon, Electivire, Magmar, Golem, and Sxizor. Tracey chose Venonat, Marill, Scyther, Dodrio, Beedrill and Misty's Gyarados, which was with her sister's when the Gym was destroyed. (They had lended to Tracey in hopes that he will take care of it.) And lastly, Serena chose Fennekin, Greninja, Absol, Jolteon, Delphox, and Chesnaught. **(Author's Notes: In the anime, she only has Fennekin, so I just looked up her Pokémon from the games. And I gave Tracey two extra Pokémon. Deal with it) **Max, being only eight, didn't own any Pokémon so Ash loaned him his Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Gible, Kingler, Infernape, and one of his Tauros just for this journey. Thankfully, age had nothing on Max's vast Pokémon knowledge, so coming up with good battle strategies was no problem.

After they got their respective chosen Pokémon, they gathered supplies for their journey while Brock went over to the Poké-Mart to get some ingredients for food (Rice balls! Mmm!). This was quite possibly the biggest journey of their lives so everyone needed to get everything they needed together. After all was ready and packed in everyone's respective backpack, napsack, or pouch, they went off their way on towards their journey to rescue Misty, only to look back to once again yell good-bye to Professor Oak, their Pokémon they left with the Professor, and Delia. Ash had to turn around quickly in embarrassment just when his mother had to yell, "Don't forget to change your you-know-whats everyday, sweetheart!" Ash lowered his red hat over his blushed, embarrassed face as the girls in the group started to giggle and the guys snickered. Pikachu couldn't even resist a laugh or two.

"Eh Tu, Pikachu?"

The gang had continued out of Pallet Town and on towards their destination. Then, after an hour's walk, something dawned on... Dawn. "Umm, Ash?" she asked. "What exactly is our destination?"

"Team Rocket Headquarters. Where else would they hold Misty?"

"...And do you happen to know where that is?"

"..Well, no."

Everyone fell down, anime style.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS WHOLE TIME WE HAVE BEEN BLINDLY FOLLOWING YOU AROUND FOR MILES AND MILES TO SOMEPLACE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE HECK IT IS!?"

"Oh contraire, Dawn my friend," smiled Ash, recovering from being yelled at by the younger girl from Sinnoh. "I have the perfect plan to get us there."

"And what might that 'perfect' plan be, o' great and wise Ash Ketchum?" asked May sarcastically.

"Well, as I see it, one of our best chances of finding the secret headquarters is to follow some Team Rocket agents there. Only Team Rocket members would know the path to their secret hideout. I know because an Officer Jenny once told me that they had no luck finding their base ever. So following a few agents should get us there in no time." _I hope._

"Easier said than done, Ash," commented Max. "Any Team Rocket members will most likely spot us and take us out for sure. What, do you plan on making them _willing_ to let us follow them?"

"That's exactly what I plan to do."

Everyone just gives him a blank stare. "How do you plan on it?" asked Dawn skeptically.

Ash grinned mischievously. "Well first, we need to set up a trap for them to fall in, just to get their attention."

"Come on Ash," stated Gary. "Who from Team Rocket would be dumb enough to fall for a trap and then be even more stupid to let us follow them to their secret headquarters?"

Ash gave Gary a look that read 'really its pretty obvious, Gary.' Then at that moment, everyone knew exactly _who_ from Team Rocket would be stupid enough to fall for that.

* * *

Gee, I wonder who that could be. Please! It's as obvious as 2+2=4. Anyways, hope you enjoyed Chapter 5. It's a little shorter than I wanted it to be. Oh well. Review and let me know what you thought of this addition to my tale of epic Pokémonness. Hope you guys liked the teams I chose for the quest. No flames, bros and sisters. I'm going to do my best to remember all those names. And their attacks. And which trainer has them. Arragh! I have a Psyduck-sized headache! Oh by the way, if anyone has a Facebook account, I have a facebook page for Pokémon: The Quest For Misty up and running. I used the title as the name for the page so it shouldn't be hard looking for it. I just so happen to like to draw and all so I will be using this page to not only update you on how this story is running but also show some of the scenes from the story as I get them done. Please like that page and again enjoy my story as I continue updating it. Well, anyways, I gotta split. See ya next time with Chapter six. Hopefully that chapter won't be so stressful on me.


	6. Double Trouble, Double Help

Chapter six! Here it is, folks! I'm sorry I didn't get this done sooner but I had to take my Compass test (I passed by the way) and then I had to get my college courses picked out. I'm just disappointed I didn't Creative Writing. Oh well, I have Drawing 1 for a class and I enjoy that just as much as writing, if not more. Also, I have my job of mowing lawns this summer so time is limited and this week was really hectic. Again I'm sorry. Anyways, this chapter is a lot better than chapter five I promise. Hope you enjoy.

Pokeshipping stories are the best. Ash and Misty. I mean really? Don't they look cute together? Now please Nintendo. Give us what we want!

I don't own Pokémon otherwise I would give us Pokeshippers what we deserve.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Double Trouble, Double Help**

_I try to forget about that day, but it's impossible. It's not that it was a terrible day or something horrible had happened like having my heart broken by you know who. What made it a memory I try to forget was the fact that it was the first time, and thankfully the last, I saw Ash interested in a girl. Problem was it was another girl, not me. And I had completely made a fool of myself. I didn't know why I got so jealous at the time but it got the best of me. Anyways, let me explain what happened. __While searching for firewood in the foggy woods, Ash and Pikachu discovered a bunch of prep-school kids bullying a classmate named Joe. They were all students at Pokémon Technical Institute, which offered classes that allowed trainers to enter the Pokémon League without getting badges. But Joe told us that the rough treatment was necessary so he would be strong enough to graduate. Still, Ash didn't like the idea, and demanded to meet the person responsible for this "tutoring" program. We soon meet this leader, a conceited girl named Giselle. At the sight of her, a brunette in a short blue skirt and a white school uniform with a blue vest and red bow tie over it, Not only Brock was fawning stupidly over her (which was only weird cause he normally goes stupid over older women like Officer Jennys and Nurse Joys), but Ash of all people was fawning too! Ugh! What was worse was the little comment he made that I knew he was referring to me as "someone who treats you bad and looks even worse." Mew, I wanted to kill him! Instead, I challenged this so-called beauty queen to a Pokémon battle for both my honor as a Water Pokémon trainer and to secretly try to impress Ash. Unfortunately, she somehow beat me, which was humiliating enough for my ego. But I also lost in front of Ash! Well, then he won against her. I was both kind of happy for him and angry at him for out doing me at the same time! But I tried my best not to show it. Thankfully, Giselle became nicer to Joe and the other students and we soon went off on our merry way. I was able to get over my humiliation and soon got into another argument with Ash. I hated doing so but it was the closest I was ever going to get with flirting with a kid like him. At least we didn't mean any of the insults we were throwing at each other... Right?_

In the Viridian Forest...

Three figures were dragging themselves around the maze of the forest looking for food and water. It had been three days since Jessie, James, and Meowth, better known as the all-powerful (NOT!) Team Rocket Trio, had been blasted off from the Pokémon World Competition in the Kalos region and had since made their way back home knowing that the Twerp and his Pikachu had returned to their home region of Kanto. Unfortunately for Team Rocket, these three losers had gotten lost in the forest and now just wanted some food and some water.

"Jessie," complained James," we have walked for hours and hours and the writer of this book is showing no pity on us."

"Well then you deal with him, James," cried Jessie. "I'm too lost, tired, and hungry to start screaming at some goofy narrator who doesn't even own this franchise."

"Both of you's quit complaining," grumbled Meowth. "I can't's hear myself gripe about how's I could get stuck with knuckleheads like you's two's."

"Wobbuffet."

"I didn't give you permission to get out of your ball, you big brainless blob!" yelled Jessie at her Wobbuffet as she recalled him to his Pokéball. "We have enough problems right now and we don't need to add more!"

"I can't walk anymore," cried James as he clasped to the ground. Then he started exaggerating his death. "It was a good life. At least that one day. From about 2 to 2:30."

"James! Keep it together, man!" pleaded Jessie, falling for her partner's little charade.

"You's just have to make it, Jimmy! You's just have to's!" cried Meowth.

"No my friends. Go on without me. I would only be a burden on your shoulders. Farewell. It was nice being evil along side such good bad friends."

"No! We won't leave without you!" Jessie and Meowth started crying hysterically while hugging each other tightly.

"Wobbuffet!"

"QUIET, YOU! CAN'T YOU SEE JAMES IS LITERALLY DYING OVER HERE?!" Jessie again recalled Wobbuffet back to his ball.

"YEAH, YOU'S- Hey, what's that over there?" asked Meowth, pointing the left of their location.

"Hmm? Oh," said Jessie as she turned to where the talking Pokémon was pointing. James got off the ground as he also spotted what Meowth had found. Suddenly, all thoughts of being tired, hungry, thirsty, and dramatic death fakes were tossed aside as they sneaked ever so closer to a nearby bush to spy on their newfound discovery.

Just to their left in the distance, a little yellow Pikachu was sound asleep deep in dreamland. His fur was rising up and down and his little mouth was opening and closing very slowly as the tiny electric type was snoring silently. His thunderbolt shaped-tail curled towards his body as he was curled up in a little sleeping ball of electric fur.

"Well, bless our lucky Staru and Starme," whispered Jessie wickedly as they hid behind the bush. "If it isn't our little friend, Pikachu."

"And with the Twerp no where in sight," noted James as he looked around to find no one.

"Are you's sure it's the Twerp's Pikachu?"

"Of course it's the Twerp's Pikachu. We have been after the same little brat and his rodent for years. I know that little ball of electric fur anywhere." they continued spying on and making sure no Twerp or Officer Jenny were sneaking around as well. "Aww, it would be ashame to wake him up and steal him in the middle of his sweet little slumber. Oh well. They don't call us the bad guys for nothing."

"Jessie, don't you think it would be better to wait for the Twerp to show up? I mean, it would be way more of a theft if we steal Pikachu from under his nose."

"No James! This is a chance of a lifetime! Besides, we have tried numerous times stealing Pikachu under the Twerp's nose and all has ended in failure!"

"Wobbuff-"

"If I have to tell you one more time to stay in your ball, it will not end pretty for you," she grumbled, recalling Wobbuffet once again. "Now, lets grab that Pikachu!"

"Yah!" said an excited Meowth.

"I don't know, said a skeptic James. "It seems too easy."

"Oh get a grip, James. Looks can be deceiving."

"Wobbuffet."

_Why do I even bother? _Jessie thought.

So the three sneaked their way towards the sleeping Pikachu. Granted it seemed too easy but they were willing to take that chance- the chance to finally capture the very Pokémon they have been desperately failing over and over to capture constantly failing over and over. This was it. The moment of glory for the Rockets. It seemed to good too be true.

As it turned out, it was too good to be true. Just as they were a step away from the sleeping Pikachu, the ground under Team Rocket's feet collapsed and the three suddenly fell down a well dug and well covered 10 foot deep hole with an "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" CRASH! At the sound of impact, Pikachu leaped up from his spot and jumped up and down praising his little victory of completely fooling the Rockets. (Though it's not much of an accomplishment to be honest)

"PIKACHU! PI _PI_ _PIKA_ KACHU!" (ALRIGHT GUYS! THEY _FELL _FOR IT!)

"Great! I knew they would," came a voice out of no where. Team Rocket looked up from the hole they were in. On the opposite side of the hole from Pikachu, they were obviously looking up at the kid responsible for setting a trap for them- the Twerp.

"Hey Team Rocket. How's the weather down there?" asked a smirking Ash Ketchum as he stared down at his three trapped victims.

"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! GET US OUT OF HERE!" screamed a very hot-tempered Jessie.

"Gee, I don't know if I can. Hey Brock o' buddy, think we should get them out of there?"

At the very mention of the Cooking Twerp's name, the Trio became confused. Last they heard about the Cooking Twerp, he had left the Main Twerp after Sinnoh to follow his own dreams. So they hadn't heard about him for a long time since their dogged focus was on the Main Twerp and his precious and powerful Pikachu. And yet right after the Main Twerp mentioned the Cooking Twerp by his real name, Brock showed up standing right next to the Main Twerp with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face as he looked down on his old enemies.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," Brock said, still smirking. "Girls, what do you think? We have them at our mercy. Shall we keep it that way or set them free?"

Just then, three female figures joined the two male Twerps. Team Rocket wasn't that shocked to see the Straw Hat Twerpette (Serena) on account that she was on of the Main Twerp's most recent traveling partners, but they were really surprised when they saw both the Hoann Region Twerpette with the Bandanna (May) and the Sinnoh Region Twerpette with the Blue Hair (Dawn) right beside her, all three of them giving Team Rocket the same nasty, smirk look the two male Twerps were giving them.

"Good question, Brock," spoke the Hoann Region Twerpette with the Bandanna. "What do you two think?" referring to the other two Twerpettes.

"I don't think they deserve our help after all the annoying pain they've cause us all this years," stated the Sinnoh Region Twerpette with the Blue Hair. "What do think on this matter, Serena?"

"I have to say I agree with you, Dawn," said the Straw Hat Twerpette. "Gary? Tracey? Max?"

"Yeah, maybe we should leave them down in the hole. It would solve a whole lot of problems."

"A whole LOT of problems."

"Ditto."

"Where's a wild Ditto?! Oh, right. Ignore me. I'm just stuck in a hole. Dug by Twerps!" shouted James.

On the other side of the hole, on both sides of Pikachu, two more Twerps showed up. These two Twerps were not seen by Team Rocket as often as the others, even less than the Twerps and Twerpettes they haven't seen in a while. There was the Sketching Twerp (Tracey) and the Original Rival Twerp (Gary). They remembered the Sketching Twerp from back in the day when they followed the Main Twerp around the Orange Islands. Along with a certain Twerpette with Red Hair, the Sketching Twerp had accompanied the Main Twerp through the Islands. As for the Original Rival Twerp, they didn't see him as much on account that he never travelled with the Main Twerp before but did notice that the two were once rivals whenever they did see him. Hence the nickname Team Rocket gave him: the Original Rival Twerp. And lastly, a final Twerp appeared over the by now trembling Team Rocket. This Twerp, the Mini Twerp (Max), was the younger brother of the Hoann Region Twerpette with the Bandanna. He stood right behind Pikachu and along side the two other secondary male Twerps. (They did notice that two of the Main Twerp's recent traveling team were missing, the Inventing Twerp (Clemont) and the Mini Twerpette (Bonnie), weren't present but thought nothing of it.)

Now surrounded by five Twerps, three Twerpettes, and a fully charged electric Pikachu, Team Rocket smiled nervously up at their captors and said the first things that came into their minds:

"Umm,... prepare for trouble?"

"And umm, maybe make it... double?"

"Oh, cut the motto," groaned Meowth, face palming. "We's already went through that back in chapter two's and the kids at home don't want's repeats."

"But we always give our motto in each of the episodes we appear in on the show," claimed James, even though none of the Twerps above them knew what he was talking about. _Team Rocket? On a TV show?_ though Ash._ What? Who on earth would watch a show with them in it?_

"But we's usually only say's it once every episode."

"But it's so catchy," commented Jessie.

Ash was getting impatient with the Rocket's ridiculous argument. _And I thought my arguments with Misty were ridiculous. _"Listen, we don't have time for this, you three," he stated. His voice and demeanor then grew serious. "Now, before I let Pikachu unleash a Thunderbolt on you three just for the heck of it, I have a couple of questions to ask that you better answer truthfully if you know what's good for you."

"And what if we refuse, Twerp?" Jessie asked rudely.

"Yea," continued Meowth. "We's don't have to answer to you's!"

"Pikachu, you know what to do!"

"Pikaaaa...!"

"OK! OK! OK! WE'LL TALK! WE'LL TALK! WE'LL TALK!" all three of them cried hysterically. Pikachu powered down and Ash began his interrogation with the Rockets.

"Alright, that's what I thought. Now, what do you three clowns know about the Cerulean City Gym?"

"Hey, isn't that the Gym where the Twerp's girlfriend, the Twerpette with Red Hair, is the Gym Leader?" Jessie asked no one in particular.

"I think it is Jess," answered James. "Aww, the Twerp misses his precious girlfriend."

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" _But Mew,__ I wish she was._

Serena became confused and worried. "Did I miss something here about Ash and Misty?" she whispered to May and Dawn. The two girls looked at each other and then back to Serena. They didn't know about Serena's true feelings toward Ash, but they knew she liked him one way or another, whether as a friend or more than a friend.

"We'll explain later, ok?" May whispered back with a hand over her mouth. Serena nodded in response, hoping what they were going to tell her later wasn't what she feared: Ash being in love with Misty.

"Whatever, Twerp. What's your girlfriend have to do with us?" smart-mouthed Jessie.

Ash was silent for a few seconds and then he spoke. "Her gym was destroyed three days ago. All the Pokémon were rescued, but..." Ash gritted his teeth angrily at this part, "Misty was attacked and kidnapped."

Team Rocket gasped in shock. Meowth that's right, gasped in shock. Despite being the arch nemeses of the Twerp, they secretly grew fond of him and his friends (if you don't count the Black & White Series era when for some reason they were turned truly evil. Must have been the suits) and hearing that something terrible happened to the Twerpette with Red Hair and her gym shocked them greatly. However, they had their evil reputation to think of (What evil reputation?) and quickly acted like they wouldn't give a Raticate's tail about her.

"S-So?" Jessie asked coldly. At least she tried to make it sound coldly.

Tracey stepped forward and showed them the note that read _**The Ketchum kid is next!** _"Whoever did this to her and her gym left this. And whoever did this was from Team Rocket."

"Huh?" Team Rocket again turned their attention towards the note. They then noticed the bold _**R**_ on the bottom. They gasped.

"Wait-Wait-Wait-Wait! Are you accusing.. US of this?!" protested James.

"Of course not," stated Dawn. "We all know you guys are too stupid to pull something like that off."

"Yea see, James?" Jessie stated. "We're too stup- Wait a minute... WHO ARE YOU CALLING STUPID, YOU LITTLE BRAT!? WHY I OTTA COME OUT THERE AND GIVE YOU SOME SERIOUS FURY SWIPES TO THE FACE! THEN YOU'LL BE SORRY!"

"Chill out," stated Dawn with disgust on the though of Jessie's nails attacking her face.

"Anyways," Ash said, trying to get back on topic, "no, we don't think you did it. However, you three are going to help us find out who from Team Rocket one way or another."

"And just how's exactly are we's supposed to help you's?" asiked Meowth.

"You are going to tell us if you know anything about any plots going around Team Rocket involving me and Misty."

"Humph. We's ain't telling you nothing."

"It's not like we have anything to hide anyways."

"Well, except for... oops."

"JAMES, YOU NIMCOMPOOP! KEEP YOUR BIG MOUTH SHUT!"

"No no," said Brock," tell us James. What's on your mind?"

I'LL NEVER TALK!"

"Pikachu?" ordered Ash.

"Pikaaaaa..."

"OK! OK! OK! THERE IS A RUMOR GOING AROUND AT THE BASE OF SOME KIND OF EXPERIMENTS!"

Pikachu once again powered down while Ash quickly jumped down into the pit, grabbed James by the shirt and growled, "What experiments?"

_I've never seen the Twerp so ticked off before. He must have really taken whatever happened to the Red-Haired Twerpette pretty badly. _"Now take in mind we have nothing to do with any of it. We're just three Pokémon thieves trying to make a dishonest living."

"Go on. I haven't got all day."

"Well, rumor has it that Giovanni, our boss, recently hired some scientists for some new project he's working on. Something about new genetic Pokémon or something like that."

"Didn't we already go through all that with the Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo?"**(Author's Notes: My favorite Pokémon, by the way)**

"Yes," continued Jessie. "However, this time. rumor has it that the scientists are not making this genetic Pokémon self aware at all, whereas it can't blow up the lap again."

"Yeah," continued James, "and there was something about needing all the powers of every Pokémon out there to finish it. Something about a weapon that drains the powers of all Pokémon, even the most powerful ones."

Gary walked over to James and frowned. "If your not involved, how do you know so much about this 'rumor'?" he questioned, using his fingers for quotation marks at the word "rumor."

"Rocket Gossip Hotline," Jessie explained, holding up a magazine called (you guessed it) _Rocket Gossip Hotline_. Everyone sweatdropped.

"Now, this doesn't make sense," said a confused Ash. "What does all this have to do with Misty and me?"

"No Ash, this makes perfect sense," stated Brock.

"Huh?"

"Think about it, Ash. **(Author's Notes: Ash? Thinking? Sounds dangerous. For him that is. Not hating on the kid, but he isn't the brightest cookie in the jar) **How many times have you saved the world? Or battled and defeated Team Rocket? Or Team Aqua? Or Team Magma? Or any other evil organization out there?"

"Well.. countless times," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand.

"Well then, I think I realize the reason behind Misty's kidnapping and the injured Pokémon. For one, she's a Gym Leader and normally Gym Leaders have pretty powerful Pokémon. So it is possible she is one of many to come victims. Second of all, Team Rocket, knowing that you have saved the world from them and others countless times, they see you as a potential threat to their plan."

"Then why don't they just come to my face and fight me?!"

"Because they don't want it that easy, Ash," continued Max, also realizing what's going on. "They want you to come to them. That's why they took Misty! They want to lure you in so they can keep you from ruining their plans and kill you!"

"But what I don't understand is WHY Misty!?"

Brock stepped up and putted his hand on Ash's shoulder. "Perhaps it's because they want to lure you in with the person who means the most to you."

Ash knew that was truer than anything else about him, but he wasn't about to let everyone know that. "Misty isn't even my friend anymore. How would that be even possible?" he whispered sadly to Brock, making sure he was the only one who heard him.

Brock was... shocked isn't even the word. He was flabbergasted and confused. His two best friends? Who he traveled with for five years? Who he knew that they secretly were in love with each other despite their constant arguments and stubbornness to admit their feelings for each other? Ash and Misty? No longer friends? _Wait, _he thought, _if they're not friends anymore, why is Ash going to rescue her? What could he have done so badly to want to redeem himself to Misty? _ Brock didn't like any of this, needless to say, but he decided it was best to bring it up to Ash later.

"We're going to Team Rocket Headquarters," Ash said turning his attention back to Jessie, James, and Meowth. "We're going to make sure that genetic Pokémon doesn't get completed. We're going to save Misty and any other Gym Leader and their Pokémon who haven't been attacked."

"You's do's realize," said Meowth, "that you's are walking into a trap, right?"

"Yep. And you're taking us there."

"WHAT?!" all three Rockets yelled simultaneously. "ARE YOU NUTS?! WE WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"

"Pikachu?" ordered Ash.

"Pikaaaa..."

"WELL YOU KNOW WE WEREN'T PLANNING ON GIVING A TOUR BUT YOU KNOW WE HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO TODAY SO SURE WHY NOT! JUST PLEASE DON'T LET THAT RODENT SHOCK US! PLEASE! MERCY!"

"WOBBUFFET!"

Pikachu once again powered down with a snicker. Ash nodded and smiled. "I knew you would see things my way." They then helped Ash and Team Rocket out of the hole with a rope ladder May pulled out of nowhere. Ash sent Charizard earlier to find the way out of the forest knowing how Team Rocket likes to get lost. He returned and led them out of the forest to the east. At that moment Team Rocket led them to the path towards the secret base, warning them that danger lurks on the way there.

Hey, what's an evil hideout without the dangerous path? They have to have some way to scare people away.

* * *

Chapter 6! There you have it! Longest chapter so far! So what do you guys think? Like? Dislike? Review and let me know. And yes, I will be showing off a made up Pokémon. Can't wait to see your reactions. Well I gotta split. MarioBoss365 is blasting off again! (ping)


	7. The Cavern of Monstrous Pokémon

First of all I want to apologize for updating late, but there was no internet at camp. But man, TOTALLY worth it! Camp was so awesome this year with the laser tag, water obstacle course, see some good ol' friends I only get to see once or twice a year. So all in all, it was worth the delay- for me that is. Plus that double rainbow at the end of the week. DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY! *ahem* Anyways, I also had some trouble making this chapter the way I wanted to be, so when I returned from camp, I was up constantly day and night trying to come up with good ideas. An well, this is what I came up with. So without further ado, chapter 7! Here we go, folks.

Before we start, I would like to give a special thanks to my friend Jacob for helping me out with some of the ideas of the Pokémon in this story. Bless your face, Jake!

This story is, again, a Pokeshipping story for all to enjoy. Except for haters. Oh well. Haters gonna hate. But seriously, how can you not think Ash and Misty look cute together? I, and all fellow Pokeshippers, know they are perfect for each other. Eat your heart out, Serena and any other girl who likes Ash!

I don't own Pokémon nor is it possible I will own Pokémon any time soon. If I did, well, Ash Ketchum would be a character people would actually like. He would've matured (and aged) as the show went on, such as going from the immature ten year old to a completely B.A. (as in Badtastically Awesome) Pokémon trainer, or master, at the age of 15. Just saying...

WOBBUFFET!

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Cavern of Monstrous Pokémon **

_You know, we didn't spend all our times together fighting with each other on our traveling journeys together. Me and Ash (and Brock of course) had plenty of great adventures together. And even though some of them may have been life-threatening, I wouldn't have had it any other way. One of our first most dangerous experiences we had was when we were shipwrecked aboard the St. Anne. Ash had just received his Thunder Badge when we spotted this luxury cruise ship known as the St. Anne. We couldn't afford it at first until these two __ganguro girls, who turned out to be Jessie and James in disguise, gave us tickets to get on board to take part in a Pokémon Trainer party on board. Being the Pokémon lovers we are, we couldn't resist. Little did we know that the party was a ruse to allow Team Rocket to steal the attending Trainers' Pokémon. While onboard, Ash observed a Raticate defeating a Starmie. Ash challenged the Raticate with his Butterfree. Though the Raticate's owner removed his Pokémon before the battle ended, he was impressed with Ash's Butterfree and offered a trade. Ash trades his Butterfree for the Raticate, but soon regretted his decision. (He later traded it back.) While all us Trainers were gathered in one room, the ship's employees revealed themselves to be members of Team Rocket! As they sucked up PokéBalls with vacuum-like devices, we all fought back; all our Pokémon teamed up to multiply their attacks and drove back the bad guys. It was pretty awesome, I have to say. During all the commotion, a tumultuous storm brewed outside. Eventually, the ship rocked violently, and the consensus was to abandon ship. Only we and the Team Rocket Trio were unable to flee, as we were knocked unconscious by the jerking movements of the ship—then the ship flipped over and sunk! When we regained consciousness, we were forced to work together with Team Rocket to get out of the sunken ship. Easier said than done, but together we battled our way through raging fires, storms, and a heard of really ticked Gyarados. The next thing I knew I woke up to a very worried and concerned Ash by my side on an island. (Aww. he was concern about me! X3) We were temporarily separated from our Pokémon until we ran into them while escaping from Godzilla-sized Pokémon. We managed to escape from the giants, which turned out to be robots, and we found an island resort/town called Port Visa on the other side of the island. Excited, Ash, Brock, and I decided to have a well-deserved vacation. And Mew, what a vacation it was! And I could of sworn that during that vacation. Ash was drooling over me while I had my hair down and was wearing a pink kimono with Goldeen on it while we were at the Maiden's Peak Festival. And he was willing to dance with me, though he was very shy about it. Hmm... could it... be? No, girl, you are in way over your head. Ash couldn't have had felt anything towards me like THAT._

_Still..._

As they continued onward...

Ash and Co. followed the Team Rocket Trio on the trail towards Team Rocket Secret Headquarters. Since Jessie, James, and Meowth were still wanted criminals, despite their stupidity (well that's more towards Jessie and James than Meowth), Ash and the gang had to make sure they weren't caught with outlaws. Of course, the Jessie and James had to be equally as careful not to be caught by other Team Rocket members seeing them helping the Twerps. Either way, both groups would be in serious trouble. Nevertheless, Ash and Co. followed Team Rocket through the entrance towards the secret path towards their headquarters: a really, really deep, dark underground cavern. Jessie and James led the group through the dark cavern with Ash, Pikachu, and Brock right behind them. Following them were the girls Serena (who as close to Ash as she could possibly get without making him feel uncomfortable), May, and Dawn who was accompanied by her Piplup. Gary and Tracey weren't far behind them while Meowth and Max were the caboose.

"(Gulp) So this is the s-secret path towards your secret lair?" asked a very trembling May. "Kind of a c-creepy path, don't you think?"

"Hey, if it was a friendly, appealing looking path, everyone would be using it," protested Jessie. "Then it wouldn't be much of a secret then, now would it?"

"Yeah, that's... that's actually a good point and well made." _I can't believe I'm saying that to her of all people._

"So, how long is this cavern?" Ash asked.

"Well," answered James, "it's about two and a half miles long at least. Should at least take an hour or so for us to get out of here just as long as we don't run into any (gulp) misfortunes along the way."

"Mis-Misfortunes?!" trembled May once again. "Wha-What do you mean by that?!" _Oh Mew, where's Drew when I need him?!_ she thought, really wanting someone to comfort her right now in her time of just about freaking out.

"Oh, well, "answered Jessie, "let's- let's just say some Pokémon here don't exactly enjoy, um, having guests."

"Wha-what kind of Pokémon?" asked Dawn, joining May on the "Near Freaking Out Squad."

"James and I have only seen them a couple of times but we never saw the full Pokémon. All we know is there are some really big Pokémon around here."

"H-How big approximately?"

"As big as..."

Suddenly, the group heard soft growling from the right wall beside them. They hesitantly turned around to where it was coming from. Using the flashlight James was holding they spotted a nest of sleeping Golem, turtle-like bipedal Pokémon with plated, green rocks as their shells. The thing was, like Jessie explained, these Golem were unusually huge with a height of at least 20 feet tall. Their backs were just barely a few feet under the ceiling of the cavern and that was when they were sleeping.

"Oh," the two coordinators trembled, "Th-th-that b-b-bi-bi-ig."

"Nobody make a sound," whispered Brock. "Everyone remain calm and we'll walk quietly right pass them without disturbing them, got it?"

"Right," whispered Ash, Tracey, and Gary.

"Got it/Pika," whispered Serena, Max, Pikachu.

"I-If y-y-ou sa-say so-o-o," whispered May and Dawn fearfully.

"Aye yi, captain," whispered Team Rocket.

"Wwaabb-auffet."

Unfortunately, the moment Wobbuffet emerged from his Pokéball, he stepped on a stick that snapped at impact. The snap was just enough to wake up the Golem Giants. (which sounds like a football team.) The giants took one look at the frightened group and each let out a ferocious roar. They weren't too happy at the group for waking them up. Jessie took a moment to glare at her Pokémon for his stupidity, causing Wobbuffet to sweatdrop.

"Wobba." (Sorry)

One by one, each Golem Giant rose to its feet and glared daggers down at the group. Ash gulped and Serena clung to his arm for protection. "I think now will be a good time to run for our lives," squealed James with fear. May and Dawn nervously clung to each other and nodded their heads in agreement. At the sound of the roar of the front Golem Giant, which was probably the leader, Ash and Co. took off towards the opposite direction of the Golem Giants into another tunnel. Unforunately, the Golem Giants formed into giant boulders and rolled towards the group in an attempt of crushing them.

Ash and the gang ran as fast as they could to avoid being squashed to death. They managed to jump over what could've been a bottomless pit but no one was willing to take the time to figure it out. Serena almost fell in but was pulled back by her crush, Ash. _He's so brave, _she thought. They made a sharp turn through a tunnel on the right in hopes of throwing off the Golem Giants, but their hopes were quickly dashed as the Giants made the turn perfectly. They kept running but were getting tired. Just then, Ash spotted a slide-like path and motioned for the group to make their way down. The group had no time to hesitate and quickly slid down the narrow path. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the Golem Giants from continuing the chase. If anything, they sped up closer to their victims. Pretty soon, the group was about to reach the limit of running. Team Rocket had just about given up.

"WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" screamed James.

"I'S DON'T WANT TO"S DIE!" screamed Meowth. "IT'S TO'S EARLY IN THIS BOOK FOR US TO DIE! NOT TAT I'M INVITING YOU TO'S KILL US OFF IN THIS STORY, YA DARN AUTHOR!"

"We're not gonna die!" yelled Brock. "We just need to get these guys off our tail! Steelix, Geodude, go!"

Following Brock's lead, Ash and the others, minus May, Dawn, and Team Rocket, spun around and unleashed their Pokémon they knew could help get rid of the Giants.

"Charizard, Pikachu, Snorlax, go for it!" yelled Ash.

"Blastoise, Golem, I choose you!" yelled Gary.

"Gyarados, it's your turn!" yelled Tracey.

"Go, Squirtle and Kingler!" yelled Max.

"Greninja, Jolteon, you're up!" yelled Serena.

At that moment, all the called Pokémon, minus Pikachu who was already out, emerged from their Pokéballs and quickly unleashed attacks at the Golem Giants. Steelix, Geodude, Charizard, Snorlax, Gary's Golem, Gyarados, and Blastoise used their brute strength to hold back the rampaging Giants while also slowing them down. Then Blastoise joined Squirtle and Kingler in using Water Gun at the Giants while Greninja used Waterfall on them to help out as well. Then the stronger of the Pokémon stood back as Jolteon sent a massive Thunderbolt followed by a Volt Tackle from Pikachu at the Giants; stopping them completely in their tracks while causing them all to faint.

The group breathed a huge sigh of relief and returned their Pokémon. "Whew. Heh heh, that was close," sighed Ash. Dawn and May gave a nervous laugh in response. However, none of them were out of the woods (Or in this case, cavern) yet. Suddenly the group felt the group under them shaking intensely. They turned their attention to where the Golem Giants were still lying unconscious. That's when they saw the Golem being sucked up by the ground. Suddenly, a group of six feet tall Diglett and Dugtrio came from underneath where the Giants fell underground and were quickly digging towards the group. "RUN!" yelled Ash. No one hesitated to question and quickly followed Ash away from the Diglett and Dugtrio stampede.

"I SWEAR IF WE HAVE TO RUN AWAY FROM EVERY SINGLE LIVING THING IN THIS MEW FORSAKEN CAVERN, I'M GOING TO LOSE IT!" screamed Jessie.

"WOBBUFFET!"

So again the group continued their running, hoping that they were soon out of the cavern. To be honest, none of them were even sure if they were even on the right path. All that mattered to them now was they just wanted to get out of this cavern before things got worst. Then as if by cue while they were running from the stampeding Pokémon, they noticed that the cavern was caving in due to the rumbling caused by the Diglett and Dugtrio. That and the ground was constantly shaking so it was a miracle that anyone stayed on their feet while running. Serena almost fell over and would have become an unfortunate victim of being trampled over by the Pokémon and buried underneath the collapsing cavern if it weren't for the chivalrous Ash Ketchum to once again grab her by her wrist and pull her back just in the nick of time. He picked her up Hero style, causing Serena to blush a bright red, and continued his running. He didn't even take time to notice her blush or how she smiled sweetly at her savior, but now was not the time for that anyway.

Meanwhile, Charizard emerged from his ball and started unleashed multiple Flamthrowers at the stampeding Pokémon, knocking down a few at a time. But what was making this hard on the Fire type was once one Diglett or Dugtrio went down, two more, or six more in the Dugtrio case, took its place. (Hail HYDRA?) As soon as the mighty dragon took out what seemed like 200 Diglett of Dugtrio, Charizard just about fainted from sheer exhaustion just as Ash managed to return him to his Pokéball. (Which was hard enough for him to do while running for dear life without having to carry a girl in your arms in the process.)

By now, everyone knew they were going to faint very soon. Here they all were, being chased first by the Golem Giants, then by a never ending stampede of six foot tall Diglett and Dugtrio who would destroy anything in their path; including the very cavern they were in. Needless to say, they quickly need to do something besides run. That was seriously getting old fast. But if Charizard, one of the strongest Pokémon they had with them, couldn't stop them, then what could else they do?

Then out of the blue, Ash got an idea. "Tracey, release Misty's Gyarados again and have it send a Flamethrower at the stampede!"

"Ash, are you sure that's such a good idea?!"

"There's no time to debate this! Just trust me!"

Tracey nodded and released the mighty water serpent. As soon as it was released it Tracey ordered Gyarados unleash a huge Flamethrower at the stampede which it obliged to do. The Flamethrower was by far superior to Charizard's as the attack knocked out the front lines of the the stampede. The attack caused the rest of the stampede to lose focus and slow down; making them vulnerable.

"Now Brock, release Steelix!"

"Way ahead of ya, big guy! Steetlix, come out and use Iron Tail then on the ground around the Diglett and then on them!"

Steelix nodded and with that the end of it's body started glowing white until it slammed it unto the ground around them multiple times, creating pits surrounding the stampede, causing the stampede to come to a complete stop in their tracks, which also stopped the earthquake. Unfortunately for them, they didn't stop fast enough for most of them to keep from falling into the pits.

"Now Gary, release Blastoise!"

"Copy that! Blastoise, I choose you! Use Water Gun followed by Rapid Spin!"

Blastoise obeyed and shot huge gusts of water out of his water cannons on its shell at the stampede. Pulling its head, arms, legs and cannons into its shell, it then started spinning like a disc into the Diglett and Dugtrio, knocking them out one by one into the pits.

"Perfect! Right where I want them! Alright Pikachu, now use your Iron Tail on the ceiling above them!"

Pikachu's tail then became surrounded in white-hot sparks until it was completely surrounded in a white outline. His tail then turned into iron and slammed it against the ceiling of the cavern, causing rocks and bolders to fall on top of the Diglett and Dugtrio, burying them underground.

As the most recent threat lay unconscious, because Diglett and Dugtrio can survive underground, the group all sat down and all breathed a huge sigh of relief. Some of them, Dawn and May specifically, started laughing nervously, but were just glad it was all over.

Team Rocket then all fell on their back simultaneously. "That's enough excitement for one day," sighed Jessie. "A girl can only take so much."

"You said it," agreed May, though she was seriously starting to get annoyed at herself for agreeing with the enemy. _Mew, if this becomes frequent, I'm blasting them off myself._

Through all the excitement, Serena forgot to notice that she was still holding on to Ash, who was still holding her Hero style. Blushing intensely, she let go of Ash and moved off of him and looked away, hiding her red face. "Sorry about that, Ash."

"OH, uh, no-no problem," Ash stated nervously.

"Hey guys! Look!" exclaimed Dawn, pointing to the ceiling above the buried Diglett and Dugtrio.

Or at least, _where _the ceiling used to be.

"Amazing," acknowledged Brock, Pikachu's Iron Tail was so effective, it took down the whole cavern ceiling above the Pokémon stampede."

"Hey yeah! Way to go, Pikachu!" Ash congratulated his first Pokémon ever companion.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Pi, Pika Pikachu Chu." (Aw, it was nothing.)

After that, the group got on top of Gyarados's head one by one so it could lift each and every one of them out onto the top where they were now officially out of the cavern. _THANK GOD!_ thought both May and Dawn. After they all got out, James turned and noticed that they indeed were way past where they needed to get out of the cavern. Nonetheless, the Team Rocket trio had been through this area many times so it wasn't gonna be hard finding their way back on the path toward Team Rocket HQ. As they continued on, Ash pondered in his mind what was happening to Misty right now.

Needless to say, he was worried.

VERY worried.

Meanwhile, somewhere far far away...

Her consciousness was slowly returning to her as she was starting to feel the constant pain she only received three days back. She could feel her head throbbing with pain like she never experienced before (physically that is). _Where... am I? What's... happening... to me? _she thought morosely. She would've said it aloud but was in enough pain already to make talking just another bother. She could barely open her eyes as it was. She had numerous cuts all over her. A huge gash of dried blood was on the back of her head staining her already red hair. She had a small cut on both her lip and a respectively large bruise on her forehead. Her clothes were torn and she could barely feel her legs or arms other than the tingling of pain from the glass cuts she received shortly after her Gym was attacked. She just laid there in a dark and cold cell somewhere out there in the Pokémon World. For once in her life, she felt absolutely vulnerable. For once in her life, she felt no courage, but only fear. For once in her life, she was scared of dying right then and there. For the first time in her life, she wanted help. For the first time in her life, she admitted that she needed help.

_Someone... please... help... me..._

A tear made its way down her face.

"The prisoner has somewhat regained consciousness, sir."

"Excellent. She for sure wouldn't want to miss the show. How many more Gyms have we to (hee hee) 'visit'?"

"Twenty three I believe, my lord."

"Perfect. Make sure you inform Giovanni know that we are almost to awakening the Pokémon."

"Yes sir. But if I may, why have we only captured this Gym Leader and not the others when we attacked their gyms?"

"Patience. Soon _he _will arrive for her and then you will see why she is of use."

"... Yes sir."

"Everything is perfectly going according to plan. Eh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

* * *

Well finally, after long, long, LONG hours of getting this written, its finally done! Chapter 7! Hope you guys enjoy and for crying out loud people, don't be shy to review! I notice I'm starting to lack in those! Come on guys. I like hearing your feedback. Here, how is this: post in the review and tell me what Pokémon should the group go up against next in their quest. And by the way, Ash and Serena will NOT be getting together in this story. Just so you know. And guess what? I will soon have Ash reveal what happened in that last argument between him and Misty. Anyways, review, favorite, and follow while I soon get started on chapter 8. Well, I gotta split. See ya next time.


	8. A Mistake I Can't Take Back

Chapter 8! Folks, I have to warn you. This is the sad chapter. That's right. You have waited for it and here it is: the chapter revealing _that _argument. Yeah you all know what I'm talking about. Well, hope you enjoy and review.

AshxMisty. So, will they ever get together after what Ash did? I guess we will find out in the future.

I don't own Pokémon. It stinks, doesn't it? Oh well.

* * *

**Chapter 8: A Mistake I can't Take Back **

_Ash's next Gym battle was up against the psychic Gym leader Sabrina of Saffron City. __But as the official gym battle began, Pikachu was helpless against her Pokémon, Abra. To make matters worse, Abra evolved in the middle of the match, turning into the more powerful Kadabra. Employing even stronger psychic powers against Pikachu, Saffron City's Gym Leader defeated Ash without breaking a sweat. After escaping the girl's doll house (it's a long story) with the help from some mysterious man, he later told us the story behind the Gym Leader's disturbing powers that everyone seems to fear. And for a good reason too. (WELL, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE TURNED INTO A DOLL?! IT ISN'T ALL FUN AND GAMES!) He then explained that the only way to defeat a Psychic Pokémon was with a Ghost Pokémon and that the nearest place to find one was in Lavender Town. Ash didn't waste any time getting there, with me and Brock right behind him. Of course, the chicken inside of him opened up when we came across the haunted Pokémon Tower. Yeah, it was haunted. How else could you explain the moving tables, glassware, and chairs? Once we ran outside, we were all exhausted from running. Brock and I were fully convinced not to go back in. Ash still wanted to go in, but his Pokémon were not as willing. Ash tried convincing them as Pikachu remembered losing to Kadabra. Ash and his Pokémon were willing to take another shot, but Brock and I still stayed behind. After what seemed like hours and hours of waiting for that boy to come back out, I was getting very worried something happened to him. I feared the worst. I was so worried, I swore I was hearing things. Then to make matters worse, some Ghost Pokémon decided to pick me up only to dangle me in the air and then drop me into Brock's arms. (Dang, I wish they were Ash's arms I fell into instead.) Now scared to death, Brock and I ran into the tower, only to find what I had feared the most: the lifeless bodies of Ash and Pikachu which were under a fallen chandelier. We quickly pulled their bodies out and hoped and prayed by some miracle they weren't really dead. I tried shaking his shoulder, calling his name, pleading him not to be dead. I was soon on the verge of crying. I couldn't have lost him. I would've never had the chance to tell him I lo... Then suddenly, the miracle happened. I heard the words, "Hey Misty," coming from his mouth. He was alive! My Ash was alive! (Oh, and so was Pikachu) I was so happy, I had to use all my strength not jump on him with a hug. I did however shed some tears of joy. I didn't lose him. Oh yeah, and he somehow caught a Haunter that later defeated Sabrina. Not in the normal way a battle should end, but it worked. Ash got the Marsh Badge after all. And of course, I was very proud of him. NOT that I was going to let him know that, mind you! I had a tough girl image to keep!_

Later that evening...

The group set up camp in a clearing in the middle of a forest they found along the treacherous path to Rocket HQ. It had been about three hours since the cavern episode and everyone was ready to sit down and rest. The sun set over the group as they got settled in for the night. Brock got his pot, pans, and kitchen utensils together and started cooking dinner. The girls started putting up their tents with their sleeping bags inside while the guys gathered firewood and then put up their sleeping bags in another tent a few yards away from the girl's tent. May then had Blaziken use a small Ember attack on the firewood to start a cheery blaze. Afterwards, everyone sat down and ate the stew and rice balls Brock had cooked up. The Pokémon were also fed their Pokémon food Brock had made for them. After everyone finished, May had Wartortle use Water Gun attack to put the fire out. Everyone then settled into their sleeping bags and within a few minutes everyone had drifted off to sleep.

Everyone that is, except for Ash Ketchum.

After he waited a few more minutes to make sure Pikachu was fast asleep, he quietly made his way out of the tent and rested his head down on one of the logs surrounding the campsite. As he laid there, he looked up at the moon and stars above him. All those stars above him reminded him of all the times he star gazed with his mom years back when Ash was around seven years old. They were camping in their backyard, just having a grand ol' time. Then the happy memory faded only to be replaced by another time he was star gazing with someone special. This time it was during his Johto journey. Or really, it was at the end of his Johto journey. As he remembered it, it was a beautiful starry night, like the one he was witnessing just now. Difference was, he was in the Viridian Forest with only two companions, three if you count Pikachu, with him. Brock was there, but was sleeping. Pikachu was in Ash's lap, also sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams. Most likely of Ketchup. Then there was the other companion with Ash, who was sitting only a couple of inches away from him; wide awake. Misty. Ash remembered her right by him as they both gazed at the stars dominating the sky above them. Ash was still getting over his lost at the Johto Sliver Conference and Misty took it upon herself to cheer him up...

(Flashback)

"It's beautiful, isn't it Ash?" Misty asked sweetly to her best friend sitting right beside her, referring to the stars.

"Yeah, sure," mumbled Ash, still kind of bummed over his recent lost. Misty noticed this and sighed. If this had happened some time after they met, she would've smacked him outside of the head with her trusty mallet and yell something like, "QUIT BEING SUCH A BABY! NOW SUCK IT UP, LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES, AND MOVE ON BEFORE I MAKE YOU WITH MY MALLET!" But times have changed for both of them since they first met, and by now they had become really close to each other. They barely argued anymore, but when they did fight it never got as heated as it used to. It was mostly just friendly teasing. They had become so close that they were now best friends, inseparable from each other. They now always had each other's back whenever the other person needed them. And now was when Ash needed Misty and she took it upon herself to comfort her best friend.

"Look Ash," she said, placing her hand on top of his hand causing him to blush which went unnoticed by her, "I'm sorry that you lost the Sliver Conference. I know how it feels to lose a competition after trying so hard and with all the confidence in the world. But listen, I don't want this loss to bring you down. This isn't the end of the world. You gotta fail before you can succeed. Take Lance the Dragon Master for instance. He didn't become part of the Elite Four after his first Pokémon battle. He had to work to earn his title and role in the Four. And I bet you, the path there wasn't easy. He most likely lost a lot of battles and maybe some competitions along the way. But he never gave up. He kept persevering and kept getting stronger and stronger and before you anyone one knew it, he became the Lance we all know today. That can be you too, Ash. You may not have won back in Johto and you won't win everything, I'm sorry to say, but you can learn from your mistakes and use what you learned to your advantage. And before you know it, you WILL become a Pokémon Master. I know you will. You were destined for greatness." At that, Ash looked at her with a surprised look on his face." I've watched you grow as a trainer since day one and you have matured as a trainer so much since then. You have a really strong bond with each and every one of your Pokémon that I've never seen anyone else ever have. Be strong, and in time, and with perseverance, courage, and strength, you will stand victorious as the greatest Pokémon Master who ever lived with Pikachu and the rest of your Pokémon, along with Brock and me by your side. We all believe in you Ash Ketchum. But most of all, _I_ believe in you."

Ash was surprised to say the least. He knew he could always count on Misty to be there for him, but he never expected her to have _that_ much faith in him. After she finished, Ash smiled and brought his best friend over for a quick embrace, which made her blush but smile nonetheless. "Thank you, Misty," he whispered. "Coming from you, that means a lot to me."

"Anytime, Ash. You know I'm always there for you and I will be till the very end."

"I sure hope so."

Misty started to giggle. "Face it, Ketchum, you're stuck with me."

Ash chuckled and smiled at his best friend and, though he didn't know it at the time, his secret crush. "Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"We will be friends forever. Won't we?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course we will, silly."

"Promise you will be there to see me become a Master?"

Misty smiled. "I promise. And I also promise to support you all the way."

"Thanks Mist." The two smiled at each other. Misty then wanted to say so much more. _Something_ so totally off the topic of Pokémon, that involved her feelings, but never got the chance as she noticed that Ash was getting sleepy. The two then settled into their sleeping bags and went to sleep, unaware of the sad event that was to take place the following day...

(End Flashback)

Ash wished it didn't have to end the way it did. They had spent that night together thinking they would always be traveling together, but Ash found himself the next night without her or even Brock. That was the tragic day she got the call from her sisters to come home to take care of the gym while they were gone. Ash remember his heart shattering to pieces when he realized she was no longer going to be traveling with him. To hide his sorrow, he tried to put on his brave face in an attempt to be strong for her. That would prove to be a mistake. Which was when Misty took Ash's brave face as a sign that he was actually was happy to see her go. And after all that was said the night before. Ash instantly regretted his mistake and made sure to let her know he really would miss her and promised they would see each other again. By the end of the day, Misty and Brock, who had to return to home to Pewter City briefly for family issues but would return to travel with Ash within the next few months, left Ash and went their separate ways, leaving Ash running and crying his way home. On that day, Ash realized what that weird feeling inside of him was that he had every time he was around Misty since he saw her for the first time with her hair down and in that beautiful pink kimono at the Maiden's Peak Festival. He loved her. With all his heart. But by the time he realized what it was, it was too late. She was gone. Back home in Cerulean City while he went off to follow his dreams. But now. Now it was even worst. Not only was she no longer traveling with him, but because of an even bigger mistake than the one he made the day she left, they weren't even friends anymore. Secretly, he was hoping that she had forgiven him since, but highly doubted it because of how badly he had hurt her. Despite his guilt and knowing that she would never forgive him for what he did, he still loved her and no one else. Not May. Not Dawn. Not Iris. And not even Serena. He loved Misty, no matter what. And that was why he was hurting so badly, knowing he ruined any chance of her loving him back. But it was also why he was still willing to sacrifice his own life to save her. That was all that mattered to him now. He wanted he to be safe and happy; even if it wasn't with him.

Ash was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts when he noticed that both Brock and Tracey were sitting next to him. They had both heard him get up and had decided that now was the time for both of them to get some answers out of Ash concerning his now non-relationship with Misty. And as the two oldest of the group and the two who have spent the most time around Ash and Misty the most during their travels, they decided it was up to them to find out what went wrong and why Ash still planned on going after her, besides the obvious with his chivalry kicking in. "Hey Ash," Brock said as soon as Ash knew he wasn't alone. What's up?"

Ash sighed and continued his gaze at the stars. "Nothing. Just... thinking."

"What about, man?" asked Tracey.

Ash closed his eyes and sighed again. "I'd rather not talk about."

"You might as well fess up, Ash," noted Brock. "We already know you're thinking about Misty. And before you ask us how we knew, we've known you long enough to know what usually is on your mind even if yourself has no clue what you're thinking." Ash said nothing. Brock sighed and then put his hand on his younger friend's shoulder. "Look Ash, me and Trace here want to help. We know something happened between you and Misty and we want to help you the best we can."

"We're here for you, pal," Tracey added. "That's why we weren't gonna let you go on this quest by yourself. So please tell us... what happened between you and Misty?"

Ash really didn't want to tell them. He never told anyone what happened. The only one who knew about it was Pikachu, and Ash had no idea how he knew since he wasn't with him when it happened. And yet, Ash felt maybe it was best to get it off his chest and who better to tell than to his brother figure Brock and his close friend Tracey. "First answer me this. How long did you guys know something happened between us?" Ash finally asked.

"I knew since you told me earlier today when we recruited Team Rocket," answered Brock.

"Misty actually told me right before she was attacked," answered Tracey.

"And now the only thing we don't know is _what_ happened between you two. So, are you going to open up and tell us, big guy?"

"... Alright, I guess you guys deserve to hear the truth. It happened the day before I left for Sinnoh...

(Flashback)

It was a beautiful day in Pallet Town as Ash Ketchum made his way up a hill where a lone tree stood and bloomed beautifully. He had left Pikachu and the rest of his Pokémon at Professor Oak's Laboratory to play. Today he was going to have some alone time with someone he hadn't seen in a while: his best friend and secret love interest, Misty Waterflower. When he got up there, he saw her walking up from the opposite side of the hill. She was wearing her original wardrobe she wore during their travels together: a yellow tank top, blue short shorts, a pair of suspenders, and white shoes. She had her red hair up in its usual side ponytail. In her hands was a picnic basket which contained a bunch of sandwiches, some potato chips, and rice balls. Once she saw Ash, she smiled sweetly at her best friend. He returned it.

"Hey Ash."

"Hey Mist."

Misty blushed at the mention of the little pet name he had given her near the end of their Johto travels. They then got the blanket they were going to use out and then set the plates and food out on the blanket. Misty then motioned for Ash come and sit close to her. Ash greatly obliged, but little did he know the true intentions why Misty had asked him to have a picnic together before he left for his next Pokémon journey. She had made up her mind: Today was going to be the day. No backing out THIS time. She was going to pour her soul out to Ash here and now and finally let him know how she had truly felt about him since the day they met.

First, she was going to start conversation with him and then go from there.

"So Ash, excited to go to Sinnoh?"

"You bet, Misty! I hear there are a lot of cool Pokémon over there." Ash then stood up and raised his fist up in determination. "Those Pokémon Gyms better watch out, because Ash Ketchum, future Pokémon Master, is coming their way!"

Misty couldn't help but laugh at Ash's little show. "Ok, Mr. Pokémon Master, sit down before you start dancing like a maniac and kick your food in my face."

Ash sat down and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry Mist. Guess I got carried away."

Misty giggled and said, "It's ok, Ash. I'm used to you making a fool of yourself by now."

"Yeah true- Hey wait a minute!"

Misty doubled over and laughed. "Oh Ash, I'm only messing with you. Quit taking things so seriously."

"Oh you _are,_ are you? smirked Ash.

"Well on second thought, you are kind of pathetic."

"OK, THAT DOES IT!" Ash then jumped on top of her and started doing one of the things she feared him doing the most- he started tickling her. He aimed for her arm pits, for he knew those were her most ticklish spots. And then while she tried to catch her breath from all the laughing, he quickly took her shoes and socks off and continued tickling her bare feet.

"STT-TTOOOPP! HA HA HA! STTOO-OOP IT! HA HA! AAASSSHHH! HAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed hysterically.

After a short while, Ash stopped so Misty could breathe. The two continued eating, laughing, friendly teasing, and chatting about old times. Ash also talked about all the Pokémon he hoped he would catch in Sinnoh: a Buizel, a Turtwig, a Chimchar, a Gible, and maybe even a Gligar. **(Author's Notes: But I don't think he'll Ketchum all. HA! You see what I did there?... Ok, moving on)** Misty told him recent stories of events that took place at the gym back in Cerulean City. Everything was going great for the two best friends.

And it just went down hill from there...

After some Pokémon chat, Misty figured now was the time to tell him. But she planned on telling him slowly. This wasn't something she could come straight out and say to Ash. This was about her feelings and those were something she didn't take lightly. So, she took a deep breath, looked over to Ash (who at the moment was devouring down a chicken sandwich), smiled and said, "So Ash, what do you plan on doing with your life after you become a Pokémon Master?"

"Hmm," Ash pondered that a bit. He never actually thought that far into his future. "I really don't know, Mist. It's quite possible I'll still be traveling around regions catching and training Pokémon."

Misty was kind of expecting an answer like that from someone like Ash, but that doesn't mean that's what she wanted the answer to be. "Seriously?!"

Ash was confused by that little outburst. What was she thinking he was going to say? "What? What's wrong with that?"

"Are you seriously going to still be traveling around everywhere?! At what extent?! And what about settling down and experience the finer things in life?!"

"What finer things?!" Ash was now getting confused and somewhat annoyed at Misty right now.

"Arrgh! You know! Settling down, meet a nice girl, get married. Maybe raise a family! Those finer things!"

"Give me a break, Misty! I'm only ten!"

"But you're not going to be ten forever, Ash Ketchum! **(Author's Notes: Or is he?) **One of these days, you are going to have to focus on other things other than Pokémon!"

"And what's wrong with focusing on Pokémon?!" By now both of them were on the verge of exploding and were now standing and glaring each other down.

"Nothing except that's ALL you ever think about! And I'm sick of it! It's always about Pokémon to you! 24/7! You never think of anything else!"

"I do too!'

"Oh forgive me!" she replied sarcastically. "It's always about Pokémon AND food to you! And to be honest, those two things occupy your brain so much, there's no room for anything else up there in that thick skull of yours!"

"You take that back, you scrawny little girl!"

"SCRAWNY AM I?!" They were now officially in each other's faces now. "WELL, IF I'M SCRAWNY, THEN YOU'RE THE BIGGEST, DENSENESS IDIOT OF A POKEMON TRAINER- NO SCRATCH THAT!- OF A HUMAN BEING I'VE EVER MET!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"NEVER! AND YOU KNOW SOMETHING ELSE, ASH KETCHUM, YOU BIKE WRECKER?!"

Ash just about at blowing point. "Shut up," he growled under his breath.

"YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, YOU WOULD STILL BE THAT STUPID TRAINER WHO SENT A BUG AFTER A FREAKEN BIRD!"

"Shut up," he growled just a little louder.

"BUT THEN AGAIN YOU PROBABLY ARE STILL THAT DUMB! YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I BOTHERED HELPING YOU OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME AS IT IS! JUST WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, ASH KETCHUM?!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!' And with that outburst, Ash pushed Misty really hard, causing her to smack her head against the tree. "I'M SICK OF YOU, MISTY! ALL YOU EVER DO IS LOSE THAT STUPID TEMPER OF YOURS AND THINK OF WAYS TO PUT ME DOWN! I CAN'T STAND YOU! IN FACT, THERE ARE TIMES I WISHED YOU WOULD JUST STAY OUT OF MY LIFE! HECK, I WISHED I NEVER EVEN MET YOU!"

When he finished, Ash's eyes grew wide and he covered his mouth with his hands when he realized what he had just said. He looked down at Misty and saw her holding her knees as she was cowering over the hurtful verbal abuse from the boy who she once thought was her best friend. Her eyes were shedding tears as those nasty words were ringing in her ears. At that moment, Ash realized he had just made the gravest mistake of his life- and he knew he couldn't take it back if he wanted to.

Finally, Misty stood up shaking, looked up at Ash, and continued crying as she said, "Y-You really t-think all t-th-that?"

Ash wanted to say something but he was too ashamed of himself to. He just put his head down so he couldn't see her hurt face.

"I'll t-take that as a y-yes." And with that she grabbed the blanket, knocking all the food on the ground, and the basket and turned to run. But before she started running, she took one last look at her ex-best friend, with her eyes red with tears. "Then you got your wish," she cried. "We're not fr-friends anymore. Goodbye, Ash Ketchum." And then she ran away. She kept running and running. She didn't care where to right now. All she wanted was to get away from him. Him. The boy who she had foolishly fell in love with who had just now broken her heart to the point of no repair. She knew right then and there that she was never going to be the same ever again.

Ash watched despairingly while she was ran away until she was no longer in view. He couldn't believe what he had just did. What was supposed to be a nice picnic between best friends became a blood bath of verbal abuse that just destroyed his most treasured friendship. Ash then sunk down to his knees as he started crying out of guilt. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" he screamed over and over.

"WHAT HAVE I DONE?!..."

(End of Flashback)

"I went to bed crying that night, wishing what just happened was just a bad dream, but it wasn't. It really happened. And I've regretted it ever since. I never saw her again after that. Not a day went by afterwards that I didn't want to call the Cerulean City Gym to tell Misty how sorry I am of what I have done. But not a single, excruciating word can I ever take back about what I said to her. I practically _killed _her with those Mew-forsaken words I used. It's a mistake I can't take back."

Brock and Tracey listened carefully to Ash's tale. They honestly didn't know what to say. But they understood Ash's misery and his guilt.

Ash sighed and continued. "So, now you guys probably wonder why I'm going to save her, right?"

Brock simply padded Ash on the back and said, "I think we have a pretty good idea why. And if you're worried about the others finding out, don't worry. Your secret is safe with us."

Ash gave them both a small smile. "Thanks guys. I really needed to get that off my chest."

"We understand considering how long you have been holding this inside of you," said Tracey.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Ash," said Brock. "We have a long day of going on a rescue mission tomorrow."

Ash nodded and went off to bed. Brock and Tracey stayed behind and talked about what Ash had told them. After a while, the two eldest went into their tents and went to sleep. Unbeknownst to the three guys, they were not the only ones who heard the story. In her tent, Serena was pondering the story she just overheard and couldn't help but feel that the thing she feared the most was true...

Ash Ketchum was in love with Misty Waterflower.

* * *

Sad, ain't it? But don't worry. Things will get exciting and adventurous in the next chapter. I realized I went over the word limit I set for myself for this chapter, but there was so much emotion I wanted to put in this chapter that I couldn't help myself. Anyway, I have another week of camp next week, so don't expect chapter 9 then. But I will get it done. I promise. And btw, if you want to see the cover art for this story, go to my Deviantart page, link is on my profile page, and you will find it. Don't forget to review. Well, I gotta split. See ya.


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